Finally, bull’s eye for Rathore

Later, talking to The Indian Express, Rathore put it down to his fondness for the Bangkok range. ‘‘Mind you, this is one of the trickiest ranges in the world. But the challenges it poses is what makes one go for it all the time. In my last three visits I have ensured a gold each time.’’ It was tough going. The windy conditions apart, the field had top shooters including the Olympic gold medallist Al-Maktoum (though the latter pulled out in the final round).

Rathore strung a series of brilliant 48, 48 and 48 in the qualifying rounds, the total surpassing his previous national record of 142, set at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002.

Rathore had a ‘‘bad’’ final round but still managed 42/50, enough to win him the gold. So has the gold eased some of the pressure? ‘‘Yes’’, he said, before adding more philosophically. ‘‘Ever since my Olympic medal, the expectations have grown manifold. And the question posed to me all the time is, When am I going to win the Olympic ‘quota’ place? To that, my answer is: I know when to push myself and while doing so there will be some ups and downs. I should be happy as long as I am able to win that.’’ He’s been trying to get ‘gun-fit’, he said, ever since he changed weapons; the gold at Bangkok was an indication of things falling into place.

‘‘I felt really good with the equipment today and was focused right from the start. The conditions got a little bad in the finals but that was something to be expected all the time,’’ he said.