<p>Reading and shooting don’t appear to be coherent passions to pursue but that’s exactly what Rahi Sarnobat, who became the first Indian female shooter to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, does. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The Pune-based girl held her nerve in a gripping 25m air pistol final which was decided by two shoot-offs that gave India their second gold in shooting after the 16-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary had fetched top honours in the 10m air pistol finals on Tuesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The situation was tense but perhaps it’s her reading of it that helped her stay calm and pull off a famous win here on Wednesday. Incidentally, Rahi is currently reading Kannada writer S L Bhyrappa’s Marathi version of one of his most acclaimed novels Mandra.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Shooting is life for me.” What does she do in her free time? “Shooting only,” she said with a hearty laugh. And when she is not shooting, she is reading.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“I have got four books kept in my room at the Games Village. I am currently reading S L Bhyrappa. He is a Kannada writer but I am reading the Marathi translated version. It is about human relations and philosophy. I have three days free so I am going to back to my room and finish it,” said Rahi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For the record, the 27-year-old Deputy Collector from Kolhapur pipped Thailand’s Naphaswan Yangpaiboon in a heart-stopping contest after both were tied at 34 points following 10 series of five shots each, taking it to a shoot-off.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rahi is the sixth Indian to shoot a gold at the Games, joining Chaudhary, Jaspal Rana, Randhir Singh, Jitu Rai and Ronjan Sodhi. Her 34 in the finals also ended up as a joint Games Record.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The talented Manu Bhaker, however, cracked under pressure to finish sixth in the finals.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rahi, who had become India’s first pistol shooter to win a World Cup gold back in 2013, had not won a major medal since the Commonwealth Games gold in 2014. An elbow injury which she picked up even before Glasgow set her back for the next two years.</p>
<p>Reading and shooting don’t appear to be coherent passions to pursue but that’s exactly what Rahi Sarnobat, who became the first Indian female shooter to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, does. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The Pune-based girl held her nerve in a gripping 25m air pistol final which was decided by two shoot-offs that gave India their second gold in shooting after the 16-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary had fetched top honours in the 10m air pistol finals on Tuesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The situation was tense but perhaps it’s her reading of it that helped her stay calm and pull off a famous win here on Wednesday. Incidentally, Rahi is currently reading Kannada writer S L Bhyrappa’s Marathi version of one of his most acclaimed novels Mandra.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Shooting is life for me.” What does she do in her free time? “Shooting only,” she said with a hearty laugh. And when she is not shooting, she is reading.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“I have got four books kept in my room at the Games Village. I am currently reading S L Bhyrappa. He is a Kannada writer but I am reading the Marathi translated version. It is about human relations and philosophy. I have three days free so I am going to back to my room and finish it,” said Rahi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For the record, the 27-year-old Deputy Collector from Kolhapur pipped Thailand’s Naphaswan Yangpaiboon in a heart-stopping contest after both were tied at 34 points following 10 series of five shots each, taking it to a shoot-off.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rahi is the sixth Indian to shoot a gold at the Games, joining Chaudhary, Jaspal Rana, Randhir Singh, Jitu Rai and Ronjan Sodhi. Her 34 in the finals also ended up as a joint Games Record.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The talented Manu Bhaker, however, cracked under pressure to finish sixth in the finals.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rahi, who had become India’s first pistol shooter to win a World Cup gold back in 2013, had not won a major medal since the Commonwealth Games gold in 2014. An elbow injury which she picked up even before Glasgow set her back for the next two years.</p>