Paris Paralympics: Rubina Francis brings more joy for shooters

MP shooter wins 10m Air Pistol bronze to take India's tally to five medals at Games
PUNE: Rubina Francis added one more medal to India's tally in Paris. The shooter clinched bronze in the women's 10m air pistol event (SH1 category) at the Paralympic Games on Saturday. Rubina had finished seventh in Tokyo three years ago.

Rubina shot 211.1 and edged out Tokyo silver medallist Aysegul Pehlivanlar of Turkiye to win the third position in her second Paralympic participation. Iran's Sareh Javanmardi (236.8) took her second successive gold. Turkiye's Aysel Ozgan settled for the silver at 231.1.

"This medal brings a lot of satisfaction since I really worked hard for it. I didn't have a good qualification as I was seventh to qualify for the final. I spoke to my coach after the qualification round and also kept eye-contact with him during the final. He helped me feel relaxed and told me to just focus on my routine and it worked," Rubina, 25, told TOI after her match.

There is a Rana connection between India's shooting medals at Olympics and Paralympics. For, Rubina trains with Subhash Rana, younger brother of Jaspal Rana. Jaspal coached Manu Bhaker for her twin bronze medals in the Paris Olympics.

Rubina felt the sport of shooting has been a life-changing experience for her. "Before I took up the sport, I had doubts about myself, and my life, but after I started shooting, all my doubts were gone and I knew what I was capable of," she said.

"I feel my parents have made a lot of sacrifices to make me whatever I am today and I was fortunate to get support from many people, organisations like the Gun For Glory, MP State Shooting Academy and the govt."

Rubina was born with leg dysfunction, but never made it her limitation in her pursuit of achieving sporting excellence. Before the Paralympic bronze, Rubina had won World Cup silver medals and Asian Para Games bronze in 2022.

She started shooting in 2015 after she was spotted by Gagan Narang's Gun For Glory academy through a school talent search. "When she got selected, we didn't have any knowledge about the sport, but the academy took care of all her training expenses. She later joined the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy and trained there for some years. Now she trains with Subhash Rana in Delhi," Rubina's father Simon, who is a mechanic, told TOI.

The proud father said that shooting helped Rubina's perspective towards life. "She has always been a quiet child, but after she started shooting, she grew more confident and started looking at things in a more positive way. Earlier, I used to accompany her everywhere she wanted to go, but after she started shooting, she got confidence of managing her things by herself."


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