New Delhi: Process is the word most elite shooters use while dissecting their seemingly static sport. Somewhere in the finite moments between breaths and beats lurks the perfect nanosecond to pull the trigger. Finding it — therein lies the ‘process’ — holds the key to a perfect 10.9, and yet, on a given day, even that might not suffice. The perfect shot may not be perfect on the given day if it’s not fired at the perfect moment.
Submitting yourself to those variables and still finding the drive to keep shooting, hour after hour, year after year requires an obsessive, even meditative, pursuit. If you spoke to Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil three years back, you’d know you’re conversing with a proverbial shooting monk.
“I was a nerd going into my first Asian Games. I would worry about every tangible and intangible variable. I wanted to be in complete control — of my emotions, weapon, body, and results. It works well in an ideal world, but not always in high-pressure competitions,” said Rudrankksh.
“I realised it was taking a lot out of me. My brain was fried.”
And so, he went on a course correction. That involved shedding 13kgs, picking up the 50m 3 Positions discipline, changing his equipment, and making peace with the inevitable failures. Now, just weeks off his second Asian Games, he describes his mindset as “relaxed, at peace, and quiet.”
“I am still learning to be in complete control of my mind and body. I try to be a bit dispassionate with the results.”
Rudrankksh went to the 2023 edition of Asian Games in Hangzhou as the juniormost male shooter in a young team. His teammates — Divyansh Singh Panwar and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar — though only a few years elder to him, had been to an Olympics each. Only 19 and already the 10m air rifle world champion, Rudrankksh landed in Hangzhou nervous and wide-eyed. Among his goals, besides winning an individual medal, was to meet javelin ace Neeraj Chopra. None materialised.
He finished fourth in the individual discipline after a shoot-off with Tomar and the meeting with Chopra never happened. Things are a bit different this time.
“I am a changed man now. I don’t obsess over things anymore. As individual as this sport is, your results also depend on how the person next to you is shooting. With time, you tend to dismiss those thoughts and get on with it. I’ll have my hands full at the Asiad this time, so I won’t be seeking out anyone to meet or get a picture with,” Rudrankksh, who will be competing in the 50m 3P, 10m individual, mixed team, and men’s team competitions, said.
“There will be four medal opportunities for me, so it’s important to find the right balance going into the competition. It’s still an area I am working on.”
The three years since Hangzhou have been instructive for the youngster. He won a bronze at the 2024 Asian Championships, missed the berth for Paris Olympics after holding the quota for two years, and went on a prolonged slump.
Soon enough, the individual medals dried up, and the World Cup gold at the Buenos Aires World Cup last April began to appear a pleasant anomaly. A modicum of redemption arrived this February with the Asian Championships gold in 10m in Delhi, but it has been a medalless run since.
“It’s been a tough year, but that’s also because I have been trying a few things. I am still figuring out the balance between the two events,” he said.
Rudrankksh took up the 50m event shortly after the Paris Olympics hoping it would improve his 10m game. “There’s no evidence for or against it, but a lot of world-class shooters compete in both events. The essence of shooting remains the same, and I have always been open to experiments. I change my equipment every year or two as well.”
That said, it’s not easy to juggle the two disciplines. The equipment, ammunition, range, rules and recoil are all different, and it takes a complete reorientation of sorts for a shooter to nail consistent competitive scores in both.
“The 50m event requires a lot more body relaxation and you need to be tuned-in in three positions. The 10m can get a bit monotonous for the body, and as a result, body craves to break the pattern,” he said.
Among his elementary challenges was to cut his weight. Then weighing 96kgs, Rudrankksh lost 13kgs in three months to avoid putting excessive pressure on his knees. Having maintained that weight for about two years now, he is in the process of a body transformation — losing fat and gaining muscle while keeping the bodyweight constant.
He works out thrice a week and goes on the occasional 5km run. “Despite my weight, I have always been fond of running and I have been competing in local 5km and 10km events even before I took up shooting. It helps me clear my head,” he said.
Ask what his go-to relaxation technique was three years back. “To shoot more. I was hopeless,” he laughed.
Shantanu Srivastava is an experienced sports journalist who has worked across print and digital media. He covers cricket and Olympic sports.