# Rudrankksh Patil blames one 9.7 shot for losing Asian Games gold

2026-09-21T15:07:14+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 3 independent outlets

Rudrankksh Patil lost the Asian Games men's 10m air rifle gold by 0.1 point after a 9.7 shot on his 21st attempt, he told Times Now in an exclusive interview. The 22-year-old led reigning Olympic champion Sheng Lihao for the first 14 shots before the error dropped him to bronze. Himanshu Dhillon took silver with 252.4, edging out Rudrankksh (230.9) in the 24-shot final. Sheng set a Games record 254.2 to retain his title. Earlier, the three Indian shooters, Rudrankksh, Himanshu and 18-year-old Parth Mane, won team silver with 1890.1 points, behind China's world record 1899.0. Himanshu, turning 21 on Monday, told The Hindu he targets only gold and next competes at the World Championships in Doha. Mane pairs with Elavenil Valarivan in the mixed team event on Tuesday.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Times Now's exclusive quotes Rudrankksh directly blaming a single shot for costing him gold, framing the story as personal disappointment. The Hindu's profile of Himanshu leads with his gold-or-nothing attitude, making the same shot a footnote to the silver winner's ambition. The PTI copy on ThePrint is neutral, reporting margins and team context without the emotional hook. The key difference: one source narrows the story to a near-miss, another to the winner's ambition, and the wire keeps it as a tally update. The two Indian flags on the podium, noted by both exclusive and wire, are the shared fact that balances each framing. The team silver from the same shooters shows depth beneath the individual narrative. Next to watch: Rudrankksh's and Himanshu's form at the World Championships in Doha later this year.

## Coverage

- timesnownews.com (sensationalist) <https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/rudrankksh-patil-that-shot-actually-cost-me-gold-at-asian-games-exclusive-article-156197852>
  Leads with shooter blaming single shot, foregrounds personal frustration
- theprint.in (neutral report) <https://theprint.in/sport/double-podium-in-mens-10m-air-rifle-swells-indias-tally-to-five-at-shooting-range/3048438/>
  Wire copy, neutral on margins and team context only
- thehindu.com (neutral report) <https://www.thehindu.com/sport/gold-is-the-only-medal-that-counts-for-shooter-himanshu/article71491647.ece>
  Profiles silver winner Himanshu, repositions the same event as his ambition

Tags: Asian Games, Himanshu Dhillon, Parth Mane, Rudrankksh Patil, Sheng Lihao, shooting
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