Rudrankksh gears up with fresh goals, new equipment

After missing out on the Olympics, the youngster has shed over 10kgs and added the 50m 3P event to his schedule

- Shantanu Srivastava

NEW DELHI: Rudrankksh Patil is known for his nerdy, obsessive pursuit of shooting. He loves to read and research, and in a discipline where millimetres decide the podium, is not shy of tinkering with his equipment.

His idea of de-stressing from shooting is to shoot more, and so when he missed the berth for the Paris Olympics, the youngster shook off the disappointment and returned to the range within days.

"I love the sport too much to stay away from it for too long. Not shooting for three days was more than enough for me. I didn't go into mourning or anything. The people around me were more heartbroken than me. In fact, I was the one counselling my psychologist," the 21-year-old laughed at the tragicomedy.

"I kept the quota for two years before fumbling. It's okay. The disappointment has made me more determined."

It has also made him smarter. In the months since Sandeep Singh and Arjun Babuta pipped him to Paris, the 21-year-old changed his equipment, shed weight, reset his perspective, and developed an admiration for French swimming sensation Leon Marchand. He is now trying his hand in the tough 50m 3Positions event.