Rahi Sarnobat going to Tokyo 2020 in the form of her life and with a point to prove
Sarnobat is not willing to settle for anything less than a podium finish
Rahi Sarnobat is one of the veterans in India's shooting contingent which is mostly packed with youngsters and Olympic debutantes. The Pune-based shooter made her maiden appearance in the Olympics back in 2012 but had a disappointing outing as she could not even qualify for the final round after finishing on the 19th position in the qualifiers.
Four years later in Rio, she did not even participate as she was nursing a critical elbow injury in her shooting arm.
"I was in rehab for a year and I could not even pick up my gun. Once I resumed I could see that my pistol was moving like a newcomer," she revealed to Olympics.com.
Hence, Tokyo 2020 is almost a litmus test for her skills. And going by her recent form, it will be a surprise if she doesn't board the flight back to India without a medal around her neck.
In the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi this year, she finished with a silver after falling narrowly to compatriot Chinki Yadav. Whereas, in the team event, Sarnobat along with Yadav and Manu Bhaker thrashed Poland 17-7 to bag the gold medal. She continued her rich vein of form in the European Championship in Osijek where she posted a score of 291 in the MQS (Minimum Qualification System) and topped the category.
However, Sarnobat's most significant performance came in the final international competition before the Olympics, i.e. the ISSF World Cup in Croatia. In a range where her peers struggled miserably to get good scores, she finished with a gold medal in the 25m pistol category with an emphatic score of 39 in the finals, missing the world record just by a point.
Mathilde Lamolle of France came second with 31, whereas Bhaker stood seventh with just 11. She had five hits (score of 10.2 or more) out of five in her first third, fourth, fifth, and sixth series that helped her take an unassailable lead. Yet she showed no signs of getting swayed away after the result.
“This competition was absolutely not about performance or medal because I was trying out a few things which I am going to do in the Olympic Games, and this is the final competition before that. This gives me the assurance that I am on the right track," she stated after the win.
Shooting in a World Cup and in the Olympics involves two different dynamics, and who else knows it better than the 30-year-old. From her experience in 2012, she has learnt it the hard way.
"I have seen it all. Being in the Olympic games is a very different feeling."
No doubt, it is different. But, it is now or never for Sarnobat. With the bag full of experience coupled with good form, she is definitely one of the frontrunners to win a medal.
When is Rahi Sarnobat's Tokyo 2020 campaign starting?
Sarnobat will be in action in the women's 25m pistol qualification event on July 29.