By Rohit Kumar Mitra

New Delhi, June 28 (UNI) Physically down and mentally fatigued after missing out on a Paris Olympics qualification, former World number one, 10 metre air rifle shooter Rudrankksh Patil had to struggle for months to cope with the disappointment before finally bringing his game back on track through sustained training and back-to-back competitions.

In an exclusive interview to UNI, Patil opened up about his struggles post the Paris disappointment. Patil explained that he was physically and mentally in poor shape after the Paris setback.

"After missing out on the Paris Olympics qualification, I was under a lot of stress. I suffered hair loss, psoriasis, I had shakiness, insomnia, breathing issues, and everything was just crumbling down.

"It took several weeks for me to start getting normal. However, as I kept on training and competing, I was able to recover. I always kept on reminding myself why I started, and gradually I recovered my love of the sport.

He said initially competing was not easy, and Patil had breathing issues during tournaments, but as he kept on playing tournaments in succession in November-December 2024, it brought him back on track. "So, facing that fear and carrying on training and competing helped me recover."

Rudrankksh has lately been in excellent form as he won the Gold medal in the 10m air rifle shooting event at the ISSF World Cup 2025 in Buenos Aires. In the final, he beat Hungary’s three-time Olympian Istvan Marton Peni.

Partnering Arya Borse, he also won back-to-back silvers in the mixed 10m air rifle events in the ISSF World Cups in Buenos Aires and Lima. Patil said he enjoys playing alongside Arya,

"We have been playing together for the past six months, it is great playing alongside her, she gave me a sense of comfort during the tournament."

When asked about his secret of achieving higher scores in finals compared to the qualification rounds, Patil broke into a laughter and said he focuses on just executing the process set by the support staff

"I am doing a lot of things, and the first thing is that I am trying not to do anything on my own. Everything is planned by my support staff, I have a very good support staff, I am just following what I am supposed to do," he signed off.

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