Saurabh Chaudhary, the shy and inscrutable maverick, was talking about ‘feelings’. The scores and the outcome did not matter much to him. According to those in his inner circle, the refound ‘feel’ of the trigger filled him with confidence.
This was at the National Championships in January this year, where — despite not winning a medal — Chaudhary announced his return to form. Two years after finishing 203rd and dropping down to 35th on the list of 56 shooters in the domestic rankings, Chaudhary rewrote his qualification round National Record, with a score of 591, to make the cut for his first national final in four years on that chilly January day in New Delhi.
On Thursday, Chaudhary will turn out in Indian colours for the first time since 2023, completing one of the most anticipated comebacks in Indian shooting. His return is a feel-good story in Indian shooting that’s already feeling great post-Paris.
Chaudhary will be the headline act as India’s shooters get their season underway in Buenos Aires, where the year’s first World Cup begins on Thursday. With a 43-member team, India will have the highest representation — four more than the Chinese and more than even the host nation Argentina, who have 38 shooters.
Saurabh vs Paris medallists
Chaudhary will have good memories of competing in Buenos Aires. This is where he won the Youth Olympics gold medal in 2018, the year that kicked off an unprecedented run of medals including the Asian Games gold and 12 World Cup medals, of which three were individual gold.
Saurabh Chaudhary training at the National camp in Delhi ahead of the Argentina World Cup 2025. (NRAI)
But if he was expecting to ease into international competitions after a long time away from the circuit, he will be confronted by reality at the Tiro Federal ranges.
The men’s air pistol is likely the only event where all three Paris Olympics medallists are on the 52-strong starting list. China’s Olympic champion Xie Yu won’t be eligible for the final as he is competing only for ranking points. However, the presence of Italians Federico Maldini and Paolo Monna, who won silver and bronze respectively, as well as former Olympic champion Christian Reitz of Germany, Serbian legend Damir Mikec and Kazakhstan’s Nikita Chiryukin will test Chaudhary on his return.
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Chaudhary of old would have been bracketed as a favourite along with the international stars. But on a comeback trail, he is practically starting from scratch and his past achievements will have little bearing on how he does on Thursday.
Varun Tomar and Ravinder Singh will also be contesting for medals alongside Chaudhary and coach Samresh Jung oozed confidence.
“They have been competing and training hard throughout the year, not only in our camps and after reaching here,” Jung was quoted as saying by the National Rifle Association of India in a statement. “Some of the boys also had a fun workout competing in some local matches that were organized between South American nations who had arrived early. They know what is expected of them and we are confident of a good showing. At this level, the field is always strong.”
Manu’s return
If the selection trials for the World Cups — the one in Buenos Aires will be immediately followed by another in Lima — were anything to go by, the months away from shooting ranges have barely had any impact on Manu Bhaker’s form.
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Bhaker became the first Indian athlete to win two medals in one edition of the Olympics in Paris. It triggered frenzied celebrations, which kept her away from the ranges for nearly the rest of 2024.
When she returned to domestic competition in February, it was almost like she was never away. Bhaker finished on top in the 25m sports pistol, the event where she narrowly missed a third Olympic medal, and came second in the 10m air pistol, where she had won a bronze.
18-year-old debutant
Incidentally, it is a teenager from Bhaker’s hometown, Jhajjar, who pipped her to the top position in the 10m air pistol. Suruchi Phogat, who has no relation to the Phogat sisters, may have started as a wrestler. But she’s making waves in shooting.
She has had an incredible start to the year, sweeping all three national titles — senior, junior and youth — topped the selection trials with an authoritative average score of 586.63 and has also won the National Games gold medal.
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(L-R) Krishna Kumar (coach), Darshna Rathore, Ganemat Sekhon, Amrinder Singh Cheema (coach) & Raiza Dhillon at the Tiro Federal Argentino de Buenos Aires shooting range in Argentina. (NRAI)
She will make her World Cup debut this week and the initiation to high-level shooting won’t be easy, given she’ll be up against the likes of Germany’s Doreen Vennekamp, Veronika Major of Hungary, Chinese duo of Li Xue and Jiang Ranxin and Serbian world record holder Zorana Arunovic.
Reset, redemption
The start of the new season will also be an opportunity for the likes of Arjun Babuta, who came agonisingly close to an Olympic medal in Paris, and Rudrankksh Patil to find their mojo once again.
Babuta, who was once in a silver medal spot in the 10m air rifle final at the Paris Games, finished fourth after one poor shot. A medal at the start of the season will give him solace, if not completely heal those wounds. It will be the same for Patil, who dominated the Tokyo-to-Paris cycle but endured a loss of form as the Olympics got closer and thus, lost his spot in the team.
But while they seek redemption in this cycle, for someone like Chaudhary, it’ll be a complete reset, starting Thursday.
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ISSF World Cup: Men’s 10m air pistol: Qualification round, 5.45pm; Final: 8pm (both IST); Live on ISSF YouTube Channel