World champion Rudrankksh Patil braved fatigue and fever to clinch his first World Cup individual gold in men’s 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo on Tuesday.
Rudrankksh, 19, qualified sixth for the 8-man final with a score o f 629.3. He later topped the ranking round with a score of 262 to qualify for the gold-medal match.
In the final, he didn’t sweat much as he registered a comfortable 16-8 win over Germany’s Maximilian Ulbrich.
“I was down with fever and cold, and I had exhausted myself during the mixed (team) match yesterday. Normally, the individual matches are scheduled first, but it was the opposite here. Nonetheless, it was an experience for me how to utilize my energy well,” Rudrankksh told TOI.
The Cairo range is emerging as Rudrankksh’s favourite hunting ground. After winning the World Championships title last year, the Thane shooter has won five gold here, which includes two mixed event gold (1 WCH, 1 WC) and three individual medals (1 WCH, 1 WC, 1 WC Finals).
It was the Cairo range that broke Rudrankksh’s heart in his first World Cup participation where he finished 11th.
“It looks like I have taken my revenge properly,” the teenager said in jest. “My first time here was disappointing as I couldn’t even make it to the final. But after that I have won all the gold medals here.”
