The undefeated Hu Kai of China became mortal once again as India's Samrat Rana upset the most dominant athlete of the season in the men's 10m air pistol final at the 2025 ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Cairo, Egypt.
On his World Championship debut, Rana ended Hu's winning streak at five after a thrilling final shot, coping with the pressure of a statement shot from the Chinese athlete at the end. Rana's compatriot Varun Tomar was entangled in a three-way fight for the title, but ended with the bronze medal.
Qualification
India finished with a one-two in qualification as 20-year-old Samrat Rana topped the standings ahead of his Varun Tomar. Rana only made his ISSF World Cup debut in Ningbo, where he finished 10th. 2024 Asian champion Tomar won the junior world bronze medal here three years ago and hoped for more on the senior stage this time.
They would face the undefeated Hu Kai from China - who won all four ISSF World Cup legs this season and the 2025 Asian title - was one of six athletes on 583, but only four of them would make the cut, Fortunately for him, he would move into fifth place thanks to some accurate shooting right down the middle.
AIN athlete Anton Aristarkhov, the World Cup silver medallist in Buenos Aires; Ukrainian and two-time 25m pistol world champion Pavlo Korostylov and Olympic silver medallist Federico Nilo Maldini of Italy would make the top eight. Uzbekistan's Mukhammad Kamalov and Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Song Guk Kim would just miss out.
Above Hu in the standings was Austria's Richard Zechmeister, who was competing in his first individual world final at the age of 50, and 2016 25m rapid fire pistol Olympic champion Christian Reitz from Germany.
A Xie Yu-Hu Kai showdown was denied as the Olympic champion finished 16th, while the Olympic bronze medallist Paolo Monna of Italy just missed out in 11th. Other notable athletes who missed out included Valeriy Rakhimzhan of Kazakhstan in 18th, Yusuf Dikec from Turkey in 23rd, Brazil's Felipe Wu in 29th and Serbia's Damir Mikec in 42nd.
On his World Championship debut, Rana ended Hu's winning streak at five after a thrilling final shot, coping with the pressure of a statement shot from the Chinese athlete at the end. Rana's compatriot Varun Tomar was entangled in a three-way fight for the title, but ended with the bronze medal.
Qualification
India finished with a one-two in qualification as 20-year-old Samrat Rana topped the standings ahead of his Varun Tomar. Rana only made his ISSF World Cup debut in Ningbo, where he finished 10th. 2024 Asian champion Tomar won the junior world bronze medal here three years ago and hoped for more on the senior stage this time.
They would face the undefeated Hu Kai from China - who won all four ISSF World Cup legs this season and the 2025 Asian title - was one of six athletes on 583, but only four of them would make the cut, Fortunately for him, he would move into fifth place thanks to some accurate shooting right down the middle.
AIN athlete Anton Aristarkhov, the World Cup silver medallist in Buenos Aires; Ukrainian and two-time 25m pistol world champion Pavlo Korostylov and Olympic silver medallist Federico Nilo Maldini of Italy would make the top eight. Uzbekistan's Mukhammad Kamalov and Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Song Guk Kim would just miss out.
Above Hu in the standings was Austria's Richard Zechmeister, who was competing in his first individual world final at the age of 50, and 2016 25m rapid fire pistol Olympic champion Christian Reitz from Germany.
A Xie Yu-Hu Kai showdown was denied as the Olympic champion finished 16th, while the Olympic bronze medallist Paolo Monna of Italy just missed out in 11th. Other notable athletes who missed out included Valeriy Rakhimzhan of Kazakhstan in 18th, Yusuf Dikec from Turkey in 23rd, Brazil's Felipe Wu in 29th and Serbia's Damir Mikec in 42nd.
The Final
Hu Kai was trying to do the impossible - remain undefeated throughout the international season. Five undefeated, seven athletes were vying for his crown. The Chinese athlete was top of the tree after five shots, but once the first competition stage ended, he fell below Samrat Rana, the top qualifier, who was in red-hot form. Tomar and Korostylov were close behind with a gap back to the bottom four.
Two sub-9 scores from Richard Zechmeister in the first competition stage put him far adrift of the rest and with another one in the first elimination stage, his competition would end in eighth. Christian Reitz had bridged a gap away to the two below him, who were now trying to stay in the competition. Anton Aristarkhov was 0.2 points ahead of Federico Nilo Maldini, but a 9.4 dropped him below the Italian and would exit in seventh.
Reitz dropped a 9.1, giving Maldini an opportunity to move ahead of another athlete, but he would score an 8.8 to the German's 10.5, effectively ending his chances. The two ran close in the end as Reitz dropped another low score with 8.7, but Maldini would bow out in sixth. With a gap of 2.6 to Hu in fourth, Reitz could not keep up the pace of the top half and left in fifth.
At the front, it had been all about Samrat Rana, who fended off Hu and Tomar for the first two elimination stages. But in the third elimination series, both of his scores were below 10 and as were Hu's, allowing Tomar - with a 10.0 and 10.3 - to capitalise. He held a 0.1 and 0.2 lead ahead of his closest opponents, with Korostylov still involved in fourth place, 1.4 behind Rana.
Hu Kai was trying to do the impossible - remain undefeated throughout the international season. Five undefeated, seven athletes were vying for his crown. The Chinese athlete was top of the tree after five shots, but once the first competition stage ended, he fell below Samrat Rana, the top qualifier, who was in red-hot form. Tomar and Korostylov were close behind with a gap back to the bottom four.
Two sub-9 scores from Richard Zechmeister in the first competition stage put him far adrift of the rest and with another one in the first elimination stage, his competition would end in eighth. Christian Reitz had bridged a gap away to the two below him, who were now trying to stay in the competition. Anton Aristarkhov was 0.2 points ahead of Federico Nilo Maldini, but a 9.4 dropped him below the Italian and would exit in seventh.
Reitz dropped a 9.1, giving Maldini an opportunity to move ahead of another athlete, but he would score an 8.8 to the German's 10.5, effectively ending his chances. The two ran close in the end as Reitz dropped another low score with 8.7, but Maldini would bow out in sixth. With a gap of 2.6 to Hu in fourth, Reitz could not keep up the pace of the top half and left in fifth.
At the front, it had been all about Samrat Rana, who fended off Hu and Tomar for the first two elimination stages. But in the third elimination series, both of his scores were below 10 and as were Hu's, allowing Tomar - with a 10.0 and 10.3 - to capitalise. He held a 0.1 and 0.2 lead ahead of his closest opponents, with Korostylov still involved in fourth place, 1.4 behind Rana.
Competition Goes Down to the Wire as Rana Defeats Hu
Watching Hu Kai shoot is almost like waiting for the inevitable goal in a game of football. Even when he looks down, he pulls out something special. Down to four, he hit the target for a 10.8 to the cheer of the crowd, moving further ahead of Rana who scored 10.4 and Tomar on 10.3. Meanwhile, Pavlo Korostylov confirmed his fourth place - even with better shots than his two sub-10 scores, the other three were now performing too well to catch.
Rana replied to Hu's 10.8 with a 10.9 - the best shot of the final. Tomar would score 9.6, dropping him to third, while Hu managed to score a 10.2 despite a flinch in his pistol. Going into the final three, Rana had a total of 202.5 compared to Hu on 202.3 and Tomar on 201.3.
All feeling the pressure, they all struggled on the first of those shots. Tomar would close the gap with a 10.1, while Hu's 9.9 regained him the lead when Rana shot a 9.5. For Tomar, a 10.3 was mathematically impossible to catch the others as Hu scored a 10.8 to a cheer from the crowd, only for Rana to create a shocked cheer when he scored another 10.9. Tomar won the bronze and now with two shots to go, Hu had a 0.1-point lead over Rana.
With the pressure on, Hu's penultimate shot was a 9.5 - somewhat saved from Rana's score of 10.2 not being too spectacular to create a mountain between them. Shooting first was Hu - and he delivered with a 10.8, piling the pressure on the Indian who would have heard the reaction of the crowd. With a gap of 0.6 between them, he cooly scored 10.6, dealing with the pressure in that moment spectacularly. He had done what looked impossible this season, taken down Hu Kai.
With their top two in qualification, India won the team gold medal with Samrat Rana, Varun Tomar and Sharvan Kumar scoring a total of 1754. Supported by Federico Nilo Maldini, Paolo Monna and Mattia Scodes, Italy took the silver with 1746; while Germany's Christian Reitz, Robin Walter and Paul Froehlich scored 1740 - beating the DPRK to the bronze on perfect shots after the teams were tied.
Watching Hu Kai shoot is almost like waiting for the inevitable goal in a game of football. Even when he looks down, he pulls out something special. Down to four, he hit the target for a 10.8 to the cheer of the crowd, moving further ahead of Rana who scored 10.4 and Tomar on 10.3. Meanwhile, Pavlo Korostylov confirmed his fourth place - even with better shots than his two sub-10 scores, the other three were now performing too well to catch.
Rana replied to Hu's 10.8 with a 10.9 - the best shot of the final. Tomar would score 9.6, dropping him to third, while Hu managed to score a 10.2 despite a flinch in his pistol. Going into the final three, Rana had a total of 202.5 compared to Hu on 202.3 and Tomar on 201.3.
All feeling the pressure, they all struggled on the first of those shots. Tomar would close the gap with a 10.1, while Hu's 9.9 regained him the lead when Rana shot a 9.5. For Tomar, a 10.3 was mathematically impossible to catch the others as Hu scored a 10.8 to a cheer from the crowd, only for Rana to create a shocked cheer when he scored another 10.9. Tomar won the bronze and now with two shots to go, Hu had a 0.1-point lead over Rana.
With the pressure on, Hu's penultimate shot was a 9.5 - somewhat saved from Rana's score of 10.2 not being too spectacular to create a mountain between them. Shooting first was Hu - and he delivered with a 10.8, piling the pressure on the Indian who would have heard the reaction of the crowd. With a gap of 0.6 between them, he cooly scored 10.6, dealing with the pressure in that moment spectacularly. He had done what looked impossible this season, taken down Hu Kai.
With their top two in qualification, India won the team gold medal with Samrat Rana, Varun Tomar and Sharvan Kumar scoring a total of 1754. Supported by Federico Nilo Maldini, Paolo Monna and Mattia Scodes, Italy took the silver with 1746; while Germany's Christian Reitz, Robin Walter and Paul Froehlich scored 1740 - beating the DPRK to the bronze on perfect shots after the teams were tied.
What the Athletes Had to Say
Samrat Rana said: "I still can't believe it. It was my first senior World Championship and winning gold in it is an unbelievable moment for me. I was just focusing on my technique and not looking at the screen and just trying to repeat every shot the same and nothing else.
"The ambience is good here [in Cairo] and I've competed here before in the mixed team event so it is like a home to me."
Hu Kai said: "I was very excited to win the medal and it was out of my expectations to compete so smoothly in the competition and to get this prize.
"This year I've had many competitions around the world so it's a great opportunity for me to learn from different athletes from all over the world. I accumulate an abundance of experience in different competitions and I hope that I can compete again in other competitions.
Varun Tomar said: "It's a very good feeling to have a team gold and individual bronze. I have two medals at the World Championship. It's a big moment and I feel very happy.
"I feel like it is [a second home in Cairo]. At the Junior World Championship it was individual bronze, team gold; 2023 ISSF World Cup mixed event team gold and individual bronze; and now team gold and individual bronze. I'm so happy about it.
"I was in the final in the World Cup in Argentina, Lima and Munich and no win, but I was thinking, I am getting ready for this and not going home without a medal."
Samrat Rana said: "I still can't believe it. It was my first senior World Championship and winning gold in it is an unbelievable moment for me. I was just focusing on my technique and not looking at the screen and just trying to repeat every shot the same and nothing else.
"The ambience is good here [in Cairo] and I've competed here before in the mixed team event so it is like a home to me."
Hu Kai said: "I was very excited to win the medal and it was out of my expectations to compete so smoothly in the competition and to get this prize.
"This year I've had many competitions around the world so it's a great opportunity for me to learn from different athletes from all over the world. I accumulate an abundance of experience in different competitions and I hope that I can compete again in other competitions.
Varun Tomar said: "It's a very good feeling to have a team gold and individual bronze. I have two medals at the World Championship. It's a big moment and I feel very happy.
"I feel like it is [a second home in Cairo]. At the Junior World Championship it was individual bronze, team gold; 2023 ISSF World Cup mixed event team gold and individual bronze; and now team gold and individual bronze. I'm so happy about it.
"I was in the final in the World Cup in Argentina, Lima and Munich and no win, but I was thinking, I am getting ready for this and not going home without a medal."