World record holder Rubina Francis set to make her presence felt at the Paralympics 2021

Rubina Francis has been in the headlines ever since she broke the world record at the Para Sport Cup in Peru. The Madhya Pradesh resident has had a pretty impressive career and will be making her debut at the Paralympics 2021. The young prodigy, however, faced a lot of difficulties in her journey to becoming a world-class para-shooter.

It's Double delight for Rubina Francis 🇮🇳 at #Lima2021! She takes home the Gold 🥇 and a #Tokyo2020 quota in the P2 - Women's 10m Air Pistol SH1 event. Congratulations, Rubina!#ParaShooting #Paralympics #BetterEveryday @WeAreTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/NbqPJ3QHbj

— JSW Sports (@jswsports) June 16, 2021

Rubina Francis and her early days in shooting

Rubina Francis was born into a middle-class family in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. She had a disability in her leg since birth. However, she never let her disability affect her dreams of pursuing sports. While she was studying in school, Gagan Narang's academy Gun for Glory went to her school to promote shooting. Rubina didn't think twice about it, she registered herself and even successfully got selected to the academy.

In an interview with The First Post, Rubina said:

"I wanted to do something else besides studies in school. Gun for Glory academy came to my school to advertise shooting, and I told my father I wanted to do this. So I registered myself, and I got selected. That is how the interest developed. My parents backed me, and that is how I took up shooting. The journey started from there. First, it was the state, then pre-nationals and then nationals."

Rubina grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Rubina comes from a very humble background, but despite all the financial problems, her parents always gave her all the support she needed to excel in shooting. Under the tutelage of her coach Nishant Nathwani, the Indian has been constantly making headlines.

🎯 P2 - Women's 10m Air Pistol SH1🥇 Rubina Francis 🇮🇳 - 238.1🥈 Bigaisha Makhayeva 🇰🇿 - 230.4🥉 Kriisztina David 🇭🇺 - 211.0 pic.twitter.com/OposC7w6wO

— #ShootingParaSport #Tokyo2020 (@ShootingPara) June 15, 2021

"Shooting is not an easy sport to afford. However, my father tried all he could from his side. That was a big support. Another thing that helped me a lot was the fact that my parents were very open-minded throughout the whole process. We still see in our country that girls are not given as much freedom. But my parents never stopped me. They never stopped me from going to various competitions," Rubina said.

Rubina Francis battled her way through COVID-19

Rubina Francis did not perform well in the qualifying campaigns for the Paralympics 2021, and she had a disappointing run before the COVID-induced lockdown. While training at the probable camp for the games, Rubina got infected with the coronavirus, and her dream of making it to Tokyo was in jeopardy.

However, the fighter that Rubina is, she fought back strongly. Rubina barely got five days to train ahead of the tournament in Peru. The Indian made optimum use of those days and grabbed headlines by winning the gold medal at the Para Shooting event in Peru.

Sports pic of the day: India's Rubina Francis wins gold and the quota place for @Tokyo2020 in the P2 women's Air Pistol SH1 event at the @ShootingPara #worldcup in #lima2021 @Paralympics pic.twitter.com/TKyggZdkW6

— Calacus PR (@Calacus_PR) June 16, 2021

Rubina rose to the occasion and broke the world record in the 10m pistol event by scoring 238.1 points. The victory sealed her place at the Games in Tokyo. If she replicates a similar performance at the Paralympics, Rubina is certainly a favorite to win a medal for India.