New Delhi: By the time their adrenaline settled, Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil were left pondering over what they had achieved as well as what they could have done. Rudrankksh spoke about defeat and delight in the same breath. Himanshu rattled off about a dream debut and also of the disappointment of being undone at the final hurdle.
Competing in a senior international event for the first time, Himanshu won silver medal in the 10m air rifle individual event with a score of 252.4, a whole 1.8 points behind defending champion Sheng Lihao of China whose 254.2 set a Games and a continental record.
Rudrankksh, a former world No.1, was third with a score of 230.9. Himanshu, Rudrankksh and Parth Mane also took the team silver, giving India five medals from the first two days of shooting competitions.
Deep Dive
What achievement did Himanshu Dhillon accomplish at the Asian Games?
How did Himanshu manage to compete effectively under pressure during the final?
Why is Himanshu's medal considered significant for India's shooting team?
“I am delighted, but not content. Every time I step in the range, I aim to shoot gold. We train to shoot between heartbeats. It’s tough but thankfully, I could do it for most parts. I found my rhythm in the second half of the match,” Himanshu told HT from Aichi.
Hailing from Alewa village in Haryana’s Jind, it was hardly a surprise that a 14-year-old Himanshu took to wrestling, inspired by his uncle Hardeep Singh Dhillon who represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 98kg Greco-Roman category.
{{/usCountry}}Hailing from Alewa village in Haryana’s Jind, it was hardly a surprise that a 14-year-old Himanshu took to wrestling, inspired by his uncle Hardeep Singh Dhillon who represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 98kg Greco-Roman category.
{{/usCountry}}“I studied in a gurukul because my parents wanted me to become independent. There was an akhada there and I tried wrestling for a couple of weeks before realising it was too much work,” he said. Himanshu’s next stop was a skeletal shooting range in the gurukul and he gradually developed a liking for the sport.
Once Himanshu found his way into the system, national high-performance rifle coach Manoj Kumar took him under his wings at Delhi’s Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. “He has always been a very consistent junior shooter. What sets him apart is his temperament. The tougher it gets, the better he shoots,” Kumar said.
Himanshu lived up to the coach’s assessment on Monday, slowly working his way into the medal bracket before removing his experienced teammate Rudrankkash from the second spot. His last four shots, where he upstaged Rudrankksh, were 10.6, 10.4, 10.8, and 10.6.
“You could see it on his face. He is a confident young man who is a technically superb shooter,” said former rifle shooter Joydeep Karmakar. “The fact that you are a newbie can go for or against you. Today, it went for him as he shot without showing any nerves.”
Appreciation also came from Rudrankksh. “Himanshu shot brilliantly. I frankly didn’t know what to expect of him, and to see him on the podium on his senior debut felt so good. I looked at him and wondered how I was shooting at 20,” he told HT.
Rudrankksh was in equal parts dejected and delighted.
“I am disappointed, no doubt. I came here determined to win a gold. I have a World Championships gold, a World Cup Final gold, a few World Cup golds, but not a Games gold,” he said.
“But if I were to think positively, I finished fourth at the last Asian Games, so this result is a definite step up. I have worked really hard over the past two years and all that effort has somewhat paid off.”
The 22-year-old went for a reset after missing a berth for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He tried the 50m 3 Positions event—Rudrankksh will compete in the event later this week—cut down 13 kg, changed his rifle from Walther to Feinwerkbau, and trained himself to be at peace with outcomes.
Having entered the final in third place with 631.8, Rudrankksh led the 24-shot final for 15 shots before Sheng caught up.
“I started messing up around the 15th shot as I got a little excited during that phase. In hindsight, I could have been a bit calmer. I just wanted to finish the shot rather than being in the moment. In between, my focus went to Sheng and I saw he had taken the lead. The difference was not so much then and I thought I could still cover it up,” he said.
Sheng, the defending champion and reigning Olympic champion, went on a roll thereafter, never hitting lower than a 10.5 in his next nine shots. It included three 10.7s, one 10.8 and a perfect 10.9 on the 21st. It proved a decisive hit, considering Rudrankksh faltered with a 9.7 on the same shot.
“I told myself I’m ready for this shot. I started applying my cheek pressure. As I brought my rifle down, I felt my heart rate go up, and I tried to calm myself down. I reached the centre of the target and readied myself to pull the trigger, but I pulled it a bit quicker because of the excitement,” he explained.
“There’s always some pressure when someone like Sheng is chasing you. Today, he didn’t start that well but eventually he caught up. He is one of a kind in the shooting world and someday we’ll figure out a way to beat him.”