Two months ago, when Haryana shooter Samrat Rana missed the final of the men’s 10m air pistol final in the ISSF World Cup at Ningbo, China, on the count of inner 10’s, the 20-year-old would get a call from father Ashok Kumar Rana. Usually a parent calling over a poor result would be to console their child. But the agriculturist does double duty by being a father and a coach despite not having any formal training. On Monday, Samrat Rana joined Abhinav Bindra and Rudrankksh Patil to become only the third Indian ever to win a Shooting World Championship gold medallist – a singular feat considering how informal the means of training is purported to be.

Rana Sr opened a shooting academy in Karnal to make his son train, a year after Samrat had begun training at a range in the city. On Tuesday e

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