Rahi Jeevan Sarnobat, 20, is aiming for a medal at the London Olympics. Last week, she won a bronze medal in the 25m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup, Fort Benning, USA and booked a place for the summer Olympics.
“They were announcing the names from No. 8 upwards and I was not one among them. Oh…my god, I thought, have I finished ninth. Then they announced my name as a bronze medal winner. It did not sink in. I believed it only after my photograph was displayed on the screen. I was doubly happy when Anisadidi (Sayyed) congratulated me for having qualified for the Olympics,” said the Kolhapur girl who is pursuing post-graduate course in Business Management and Administration.
The winner of the CWG gold last year in the 25m pairs event with Anisa Sayyed, Rahi further said that she did not expect to make the cut for the Olympics.
“The competitors in my event were all Olympians and had kids of my age. So I thought it would take seven or eight years to do that. But thanks to the constant interaction I have had with senior shooters like Gagan Narang, Anjali Vedpathak-Bhagwat, Suma Shirur, Anisadidi, Tejaswini Sawant and others, I have improved my knowledge and gained experience. Gaganbhai goes to the extent of explaining how to prepare for an event, even the minute details. This proved to be an advantage for me.”
Rahi will now change her schedule in June and equipment as guided by Kazakhstan's Anatolii Piddubnyi, an ace coach employed at the ‘Guns for Glory' academy run by Gagan Narang in Pune.
The last qualifying tournament for the London Olympics will be held in January 2012.
“If an Indian does not qualify for the second quota in the 10m air pistol, then I will be eligible to compete in that event too at the Olympics,” said Rahi, who has two sponsors in Lakshya and the Vascon Group.
