India Basks In Rathore's Glory

For someone who took to the sport late, his rise has been nothing less thanphenomenal. Six years ago, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was competing in theAll-India Mavalankar Championships, the qualifying event for the National Championships.

Today, the marksman created history for India by winning a silver medal in the men's double trap eventat the Olympic Games to become the country's first individual to do so after Independence.

A British soldier based in India, Norman Pritchard had won two athletics silver medalsat the Paris Games in 1900 while Khashaba Jadhav won a wrestling bronze in Helsinkiin 1952. Leander Paes bagged a bronze in tennis at the 1996 edition in Atlanta andKarnam Malleswari followed suit in weightlifting at Sydney four years later.

An event that puts a shooter’s skills as well as reflexes to stern test, the 34-year-old Army Major showed remarkable poise and concentration to not only give thecountry its finest moment yet in the ongoing mega event but also lift the pall of gloom that had descended on the Indian camp after the disappointing show in the first three days of competition.

Rathore rattled up 44 points out of a possible 50 in the six-man final to take home the silver with a total of 179 points, thus becoming only the fifth Indian to win an individual medal in the Olympic Games.

"I just can't describe this moment. I have no words. It is a fantastic feeling", Rathore said immediately after achieving the feat at the Markopoulo Shooting Centre in Athens.

"To win a medal in the Olympics is the dream of every sportsperson. I am glad that I could do it. I always knew Ihad a chance but I needed to perform in the final. Yes, I was a little tense. Idied a hundred times there but everything went off well," Rathore saidafter the historic performance.

The gold in the event went to Ahmed Almakatoum of the UAE by tying the Olympic record with a total of 189 whileZheng Wang of China had to be content with a bronze medal with a score of 178, just one point behindRathore.

The strongly-built world No. 3 qualified for the final with the fifth-best score of 135 with efforts of 46, 43 and 46 inthe three rounds. Almaktoum took the first position in the qualifiers with a score of 144 while Sweden's Hakan Dahlby (138) andZheng took the second and third positions respectively.

Rathore, who won the gold medal in the ISSF Sydney World Cup earlier this year,missed his second shot in the final series but steadied himself well to rattle up a string of 14 shots which hit thetarget.

The Major was palpably under pressure in the second half of the final as he failed to secure full twopoints thrice, from the 17th to the 20th round, to slip to the third spot. But Rathore, whoserved in Jammu and Kashmir during the Kargil War, kept his cool in the decisivelast five rounds to claim the coveted medal.

As soon as the last shot was hit, Rathore lifted his hands but there was no other show of emotion.

A Master in Strategic Studies from Jaipur University, Rathore wrapped himself with theTricolour as he collected his medal from the Indian Olympic Association's Secretary General and a former Olympian Randhir Singh.

Rathore, who recently won another gold in the Czech Masters to go with the bronzeat the World Shooting Championship in Nicosia, Cyprus last year, said the featshould inspire lot of youngsters in the future.

"I am not only happy that it is the first silver since Independence, asfar as I am concerned, this silver should inspire a lot of other young people.

"Cricket is a very important game in India, I also like cricket. But myachievement should encourage youngsters to take up other disciplines likeshooting. I hope we can win more medals for the country."

But there was a tinge of sadness as he reflected on the run-up to the Games."I had taken part in lot of tournaments and it was a bit of a struggle toarrange for the funds. Anyway, this medal means a lot to me," he added with a glint in his eye.

(Inputs from PTI)