Gold medal, World Record, Olympic quota: How shooter Saurabh Chaudhary had a perfect World Cup debut

In a sport that demands high concentration levels, Saurabh Chaudhary is already making a name for himself as something of a master.

With the crowd hooting from the stands just 10 metres behind you, shooting the target with precision is a difficult job. But at a packed Dr Karni Singh Shooting range in New Delhi on Sunday, Chaudhary showed once again how he can phase out the distractions and produced a stunning level of shooting.

So much so that, on his senior international International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup debut, he ended up creating world record score of 245 on his way to a gold medal at the 10m air pistol final.

The 16-year-old continued his top form from junior level and earned India a Tokyo Olympics quota, the first for India at this World Cup in New Delhi.

A world record, though, was never on Chaudhary’s mind. Neither was the gold medal or the quota for that mater. “I was never thinking of the quota and these things never come to my mind. World record was also not on my mind because if I think about, I will never be able to make it,” he said after the final.

Not a surprise

“Witness the start of a promising senior career,” said the commentator as the prodigy left everyone watching him in awe. But those who have seen his development, sounded less surprised.

“He was shooting like he was always shooting at the senior level. Even with so much crowd there was no slip-ups from him and he made a world record,” national coach Samresh Jung said.

But the Asian Games champion, in a way, was bound to set the new global benchmark. At the selection trials in December last year, Chaudhary had shot a score of 248.2 in the 10 m air pistol final. That score was 4.6 points above the then-world record of 243.6 held by Ukraine’s Oleg Omulchuck (who failed to qualify for the final on Sunday). But because it was at trials, that record was not considered by the International Shooting Sport Federation.

The difference wasn’t as big here but the fact the he was able to do with ease in training, translated into a top performance at the world stage. His aforementioned concentration is a side effect of a new training regime under coach Amit Sheoran, who also said that the scores are set so high during training that a world record was expected.

“Shooting 245 is not new for him. During training he tries to hit more than 248 so that he doesn’t feel that some score is big. It showed now that 245 is normal for him. Even in the qualifying, he tries to go beyond 590,” Sheoran says.

Chaudhary did not manage to cross that number in qualifying though. But even his 587 was good enough to qualify him at the third position. That again was something that he and Sheoran have been trying to improve for last six months.

“I told him that you have been shooting good at the junior level but at the senior level, let’s try to achieve 590. It’s great that he could manage 587 at his senior debut,” he added.

Focus, focus

There were some hiccups though. During the penultimate series of qualification, he shot an eight and nine which prompted coach Jung to ask the crowds to not make noise. But Jung was happy that he recovered well.

“That is what sets him apart. He is a very focused shooter and today despite the crowd making so much noise, he managed to shoot so well. He did not talk to anyone between qualification and finals. He rested because you are shooting with one hand, the balance of the body is disturbed,” Jung said.

The Youth Olympic champion would show the same level of concentration in the final as well. After the first two series, he had topped the ranks with a score of 102.2. Everyone else, including multiple-time World Cup medallist Darim Mikec of Serbia, were playing catch-up.

Such was Chaudhary’s domination that he never let anyone close. At one point in the final, he led by 5.7 points and despite the lead, never relaxed.

“I knew I had a big lead but didn’t bother about it. I just kept doing everything I do in practice. I don’t think about a nine as well. Coaches train us for such situations and I keep doing that,” the youngster said.

The situational training was the major part of his training since the Youth Olympic Games last year. Back home in Kalina, he has made a new shooting range in the courtyard. It has two lanes with manual targets. Sheoran says it was one of things they did to improve his concentration.

“We had the shooting academy but it is small and there are many kids who come to the academy so we began training at home. He had shooting range between the rooms. Now we have a small range with two lanes. I asked him to train at home because of the winter season and also he doesn’t have to travel to my range,” the coach said.

Another change was in his shooting rhythm. At the junior level, the Haryana teenager used to take more than 15 seconds between his shots in the final. That has now reduced to 10 to 12 seconds.

“When you take that much time, it hits your concentration and you tend to think too much between shots. This time he took less time so that there is no break in concentration between shots. He executed that very well,” Sheoarn said.

And that perfect execution resulted in a performance that was described as unbelievable by many fans and even a former Olympian, but it was rooted in a dedicated regime that made him and his team believe anything is possible.