When the rest of finalists in the women’s 10m air pistol had fired their single shots and were holding their pistols down in a resting pose, one shooter stood out at the shooting range in Hangzhou. Palak Gulia was still taking aim, cancelling her shots and pulling her trigger only when she was perfectly aligned with the target. You only have 50 seconds to fire those nerve-wracking 14 single shots and the slightest of miscalculation would mean a blank against the shooter’s name. But the 17-year-old from India was going about her business with the nonchalance of a seasoned pro, relying on a clock ticking in her head as she fired to an individual gold medal with a Games record (242.1pts).

PREMIUM

The reluctant shooter – who took up the sport in 2019, left it and then re-started 2021 – was in the middle of weaving something special. For someone ranked 114th in the world, the manner in which she handled the pressure of a big final and delivered was unbelievable.

She finished school last year and then made it to the Indian junior and senior team. It was only then that she got her first experience of a World Cup in Suhl (Junior) and won a gold medal. A silver medal in Asian Airgun Championships followed, it was her only individual medal as a senior before this.

She took her initial steps in the sport four years ago, when she started training under coach Rakesh Thakur in his academy in Faridabad. “She was more focused on her studies then, so she left after four months,” says Thakur.

In those four months, Palak amazingly managed to find her feet in the crowded Indian shooting scene, and that startled Thakur, who has guided Paralympic champion Manish Narwal, his brother Shiva Narwal, who won gold in air pistol men’s team event in Hangzhou, and many other internationals.

Thakur noticed that Palak had special quality.

“She was talented but her mind was not in shooting. The next year, there was Covid and she did not come to the range,” says Thakur.

Thakur thought he lost a gifted trainee but Palak’s father, Joginder Singh, brought her back to the range in 2021. Gradually, she started frequenting Thakur’s 10x Shooting Academy more with the family shifting from Gurgaon to Faridabad. Her mind wavered again last year when she wanted to prepare for medical exams but she eventually put that on the backburner.

“She doesn’t train much like other trainees in my academy. She spends just two to three hours and her scores are average but some shooters are meant only for competitions. Palak is one of them. Only in the last few months has she started putting in more hours,” says her coach.

Put her in a pressure situation and Palak is a different beast. In Hangzhou, she qualified for the final in seventh position with a score of 577. But in the final, and more importantly during the last stretch, she moved into her zone, shooting with rare equanimity in a big final.

Many times, while sitting behind her in domestic competitions, Thakur would agonisingly wait for Palak to pull her trigger in single shots. In the 24-shot final, shooters fire five shots each in the first two series, and then come the 14 single shots on command when shooters feel the heat of elimination. Those single shots are Palak’s strengths.

“She takes her time in aiming and fires only when she is sure of aligning with the target. It’s a process she is used to. When the command instructions start, she gets into a different mindset and is able to focus well. Even today she cancelled her shots a few times and then took her shots. Normally shooters get anxious if they are not able to shoot first time, but Palak remains calm and does it so well. That’s natural. The clock has never stopped on her,” says Thakur.

In fact, some might say her time is just beginning. But one can be sure she won’t be rushed by it.