Sport has a way of humbling those who take it for granted: India’s pistol coach Ronak
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Pistol coach and India’s High Performance Director Ronak Pandit. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu
What was expected to be India’s golden day at the Asian Games shooting range turned into a nightmare with two of the country’s biggest hopes stumbling, fumbling and faltering in the qualification round, shooting scores low enough to miss out on a medal as a team as well.
On the flip side, the skeet shooters made up for the disappointment in pistol to ensure the day did not end medal-less for India. The women’s 10m air pistol has been one of the most reliable medal events for India over the past few years, including a gold-silver double in the previous edition.
On Wednesday (September 23, 2026), the silver medallist from Hangzhou, Esha Singh, finished 15th in the qualifying round and Suruchi Phogat, on a roll in the last 18 months, further down at 26th.
“There is pressure on everyone, but this performance is unpardonable. It’s not like the other countries have any advantage. There is no point in pointing fingers at any individual, but overall, this was not what we expected, what they are capable of... this should not have happened,” pistol coach and India’s High Performance Director Ronak Pandit told The Hindu, mincing no words.
“Pressure is what you have been training for all these years. It’s there every time you go out to represent the country, regardless of the competition. But with what we have been shooting not only in training but also in competitions over the last two years, these scores are not acceptable. I have always said that a medal is not in our control; performances are. If you shoot 595 and there are 10 shooters scoring higher, that’s bad luck. But scoring 560s-570s is not just inexcusable; it’s insufficient to even dream of a medal,” he added.
The Indian trio, including Manu Bhaker, managed 1719 points with 44 inner 10s, losing out on a bronze to Vietnam by two inner 10s. “The gold for China [in team] came with 1735 points, something that is par for us at other times even with average shooting. There will be a detailed debriefing to figure out what happened, but I really hope this comes as a reality check for the youngsters who might have believed they were unbeatable. Sports has a way of humbling anyone who takes it for granted,” he signed off.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
