Asian Championship: Samrat, Suruchi settle for silver as new finals format proves costly

NEW DELHI: When India’s Samrat Rana and Suruchi Phogat finished their 10-team air pistol mixed qualification round in the Asian rifle and pistol championship as the best shooters on Thursday, they were in for a surprise.The two were told that they were to contest the final in a new format introduced only last month by the International Shooting Federation (ISSF).

The new rule puts all four pairs fighting for the gold. Earlier, the top four pairs would qualify for the final, with the top two teams shooting for gold and silver, while the next two shot for bronze.They tried to overcome the setback and fought hard but had to settle for the silver with 479.6 points, behind Uzbekistan’s Nigina Saidkulova and Mukhammad Kamalov (481.3 points).

Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Ching Cheng and Hsiang-Chen Hsieh took the bronze (347.7).“I actually found out (about the new format) only after coming to the reporting area for the final. Our range officer told us that from Jan 2026 onwards, the mixed team finals would be held in this new format. Trying something new sounded exciting. It did not have a bearing on our performance. We shot as we always do,” Rana said after the contest.

Suruchi, however, said the last-moment information affected her. “If we had practised in this format before, it would have been better. But hearing about the new format, I suddenly felt a little nervous. After the qualification round, we thought only two teams would fight for gold and we would win it,” the 19-year-old said.They started the final on a positive note, maintaining the lead until the 10th shot mark. But after that, their game dropped, allowing the Uzbekistan pair to race ahead.

With the gap widening and Rana taking time to take his shots, pistol coach Samaresh Jung had to take a 30-second time-out towards the final stage. “He asked me to stay relaxed as well as focus on my technique. He said I was firing a bit late. I also realised I was making a mistake,” Rana said.

Rana said he took longer because he was aiming for the “perfect shot”.‘Started at 13, in a 12m long room’Three medals in the Asian Championship on Thursday left Samrat Rana reminiscing of his teenage days when he picked up the gun for fun in Haryana’s Karnal.

It was in 2018 when he first held a gun at the village academy, which he visited with his shooting enthusiast father.“I was just 13 then. I just liked it. I felt that I would do well in shooting. My father had a keen interest in shooting, so he encouraged me to follow my passion,” Rana said. “Our house had a 12-metre long room. I used to place a cardboard box at one end and would practise shooting. The journey started from there.”Rana said his father was into farming, but leased out their agricultural land to open an academy so that the son could practise properly. “My father lived in a village and used to practise target shooting. He didn’t get proper guidance or support. He didn’t want me to face the same limitations, so he made sure I got better opportunities and structured training,” he said.“I’m going back home with three medals for my family. That makes me very happy,” said the 2025 world champion. Asked why his name has a royal ring to it, he said: “My father’s name is Ashok. He named me Samrat, meaning emperor. So it’s like Ashok Samrat.”