The moment said it all — a glance at the screen, a muttered expletive under his breath, and then a brave, strained smile. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar came agonisingly close to clinching the 50m Three-Position World Championship title, but one final-shot slip allowed Paris Olympic gold medallist Liu Yukun to snatch victory by the thinnest of margins.
A tiny lapse, a fraction of a second too late on the trigger — and the gold was gone.
Earlier in the day, India’s mixed-team pistol pair, Esha Singh and newly crowned world champion Samrat Ran, also had a golden opportunity.
Locked 9-9 with China in a nail-biting shoot-off, both Indians struggled to find 10-ring shots at the crunch moment. Their Chinese opponents, Hu Kai and Yao Qianxun, surged ahead 16-10, leaving the Indian duo with silver.
Despite the heartbreak, Cairo turned into one of India’s most successful Shooting World Championships campaigns ever — with four medals in Olympic disciplines: Samrat Rana’s gold, Aishwary’s silver, Esha-Rana’s mixed-team silver, and Elavenil Valarivan’s bronze.
Speaking after his event, Aishwary said,
“I came here to win a medal. The World Championships are tougher than the Olympics — this silver means a lot. Yes, there was pressure in the final shot, but that’s shooting. I’m happy I fought for gold.”
India’s rise in the 50m 3-Position event has been dramatic. Once considered a weak area, the country’s shooters have turned it into a medal-rich category since 2022.
Aishwary now joins names like Akhil Sheoran and Paris Olympic bronze medalist Swapnil Kusale, while Sift Kaur Samra holds the women’s world record and Asian Games gold.
Until 2016, India’s best in 50m 3P was Joydeep Karmakar’s 4th place at Rio — a reminder of how far Indian shooting has come.
Karmakar, now Aishwary’s coach, credits India’s transformation to learning how to master outdoor shooting and wind conditions — crucial in the 50m discipline.
“If you can’t read the wind, you can’t shoot well outdoors,” he said. “The new generation has learnt to adapt.”
A Final Shot to Remember — and Learn From
Aishwary’s final was a roller-coaster. A poor start had him in last place after the kneeling stage.
Then came a blistering comeback — a spectacular 158.7 in prone — followed by steady, nerve-controlled standing shots. For the first time, just before the last shot, he nudged ahead of Liu by 0.1.
But pressure crept in. Shooting second, with the gold on the line, Aishwary held a bit too long. His stance tilted forward — a known issue when he delays his trigger pull — and the shot slipped out of perfect scoring. Liu capitalized; gold for China, a learning moment for India.
National rifle coach Manoj Kumar summed it up:
“He was late on the trigger, lost balance slightly. It cost him gold. But this experience will make him stronger.”
Aishwary’s silver may not glitter as brightly as gold today, but it reflects a sharper truth — India’s shooting machine is maturing, learning, and edging ever closer to global dominance.
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