Madhya Pradesh Para Shooter Creates World Record, Bags Gold For India At Peru Event

Madhya Pradesh shooter Rubina Francis (21) has set a world record at the ongoing Para Sport Cup in Peru on Wednesday. She has won gold in the 10-metre air pistol para-event for women. Scoring 238.1 points, she went past the world record of Aysegul Pehlivanlar of Turkey. This win also secured her the quota for India at the Tokyo Summer Paralympics 2020.

Claim To Fame

In 2006, Rubina started her basic shooting lessons in Jabalpur at a camp organised by an academy there. In 2015, she met her first shooting coach, Nishant, through Gagan Narang's Gun for Glory Academy. In 2017, Rubina moved to Bhopal and started learning at the MP Shooting Academy. In 2018, she rose to prominence after qualifying for the Asian Games.

Rising Above Odds

However, for Rubina, her disability in the leg was not the only constraint. Her father, Simon Francis, is a mechanic by profession. It was tough for him to afford all the expense related to the sport.

Rubina acknowledged that shooting is not an easy sport to afford. However, she remains thankful to her parents for helping her throughout the journey.

In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Simon said, "Initially, we faced hardships as I didn't have money to even afford petrol to take her to the academy in Jabalpur. I used to wait for hours during her practice session as I couldn't afford to commute twice to the academy. Later, her mother started working at a private hospital to fulfil basic needs."

Over the years, she has earned more than 15 medals from national and international events. Her achievement has been praised by Bhopal CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and sports minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia on social media. Presently, Rubina is training under the guidance of Jaspal Rana, former shooter and coach of the Junior Indian Pistol Shooting Team.

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