Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
Para-shooter Rubina Francis sets a world record; qualifies for Tokyo Paralympics
Rubina Francis clinched the gold medal in the 10m air pistol event for women at the Para Sport Cup in Peru and qualified for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Rubina Francis
Rubina Francis is not a very well-known name in Indian sports. Despite boasting of an impressive career as a Para-shooter, she has somehow stayed away from the media attention for a major portion of her sporting career.
The para-shooter from Madhya Pradesh clinched the gold medal in the 10m air pistol event for women at the ongoing Para Sport Cup in Peru and qualified for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Besides, Rubina also set a World Record along the way, shooting an impressive 238.1 to go past the previous record set by Turkey's Aysegul Pehlivanlar.
Having started shooting at a very young age, Rubina Francis rose to prominence when she qualified for the Asian Para Games in 2018. The youngster is one of India's most decorated Para-shooters, with a total of 15 international medals in her kitty.
Rubina met her first coach in shooting, Nishant, through Gagan Narang's Gun for Glory Academy. There has been no looking back since for the youngster who has gone on to establish herself as one of the best Para-shooters in the country.
"I was introduced to Guns for Glory in 2015. From there only, I started my career in shooting. I qualified for their programme after several trials and then went on to play both nationally and internationally soon after," Rubina said.
The constant support from her family also went a long way in helping the shooter in shaping her career in the best possible way.
"Shooting is not an easy sport to afford. However, my father tried all he could from his side. That was a big support. Another thing that helped me a lot was the fact that my parents were very open-minded throughout the whole process," the shooter explained.
Rubina Francis has been training under the guidance of the former shooter and the coach of the Junior Indian Pistol Shooting Team, Jaspal Rana, now has her eyes set on a podium finish at Tokyo.
The quotes in the article are taken from an interaction The Bridge had with Rubina Francis before the 2018 Asian Para Games. You can read it here.
