After winning a gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol Men's event at the ISSF World Cup held in Munich on Monday, 17-year old shooter Saurabh Chaudhary has become one of the biggest contenders to win a gold medal for India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This is his second gold medal this year in a World Cup after securing top spot in New Delhi with a world record score of 245.0. He had also earned his spot in the Olympics with that win. In Munich, he bettered his previous performance and scored 246.3 in the Final. Last year, Chaudhary won gold at the Asian Games as well as in the Youth Olympic Games, setting a new world record in the latter.
The teenage prodigy who is from Kalina village in Uttar Pradesh is one of the country's biggest hopes for a medal in the 10m Air Pistol shooting event at next year's Olympics. He has been in superb form over the past one year, winning tournaments with great consistency.
According to his coach Amit Sheoran, the key to his success is to always be calm and patient during the contest. "Saurabh was coming up a little more slowly during his last five-six shots. He was very relaxed and confident in that period," he was quoted as saying by Times of India.
He further added, "I told him to have patience and to do things slowly. He obeyed me for which he got the results. If you are calm and slow your sight, the focus becomes better."
India is now leading the medals tally with three golds in the event. Rahi Sarnobat won the gold medal in the 25m Pistol women's category while securing an Olympic quota. The other gold-winner was Apurva Chandela who topped the 10m Air Rifle category on Sunday.
