Rahi Sarnobat overcame severe neuropathic pain to return to competitive shooting, securing a spot on India's Asian Games team after a remarkable comeback.

Published on: Sep 4, 2026, 03:04:12 IST

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New Delhi: When Rahi Sarnobat boards the flight to Japan later this month for her third Asian Games, she will have marked a significant personal milestone. Having almost quit the sport four years ago due to neuropathic pain syndrome, Rahi, over 18 excruciating months, found the wherewithal to push her mind and body enough to make it to the Indian team alongside young stars Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh.

“It still feels like a dream,” Rahi said. “To suddenly lose your skills one day, struggle to get through your days, unlearn, relearn, and somehow be good enough to compete for India… it’s a rebirth of sorts.”

A gold medallist in the 2018 edition, Rahi remains the only Indian to win an individual 25m pistol gold at the Asiad. The Indian shooting landscape, particularly in pistol disciplines, has undergone a sea change since then. The squad has become younger, the scores have gone higher, and the medal count in elite competitions has become more consistent.

“I still feel I am relevant. That said, shooting is not the centre of my life anymore,” she said.

That’s because, in the autumn of 2022, Rahi woke up one morning with her right leg immobile. “I knew that instant my shooting career was over,” she remembered. A world No.1 just a year before, Rahi spent the next 18 months recovering from neuropathic pain syndrome. A chronic condition affecting the nervous system, it left her dealing with debilitating pain across her body.

“Everything from my eyelashes to my toe pained. Just getting through the day was a task. Pain became a constant companion, the mind began to play tricks too…sometimes, on a perfectly sunny day, I would feel drenched. There were times when sitting on a sofa, I would feel my body sinking into quicksand. It was crazy.”

Rahi began taking baby steps into shooting in 2023 and only now is she completely off medication. Her return necessitated technical and equipment resets. She shed 20 kgs, tweaked her pistol settings, and adopted a more side-on position at the firing station to account for the persistent strain on her neck.

“I had to customise my grip, and my pistol weighs less than the usual we use in 25m to ensure better stability at the firing point. There was a lot of trial and error because neither I nor the coaches knew what would work.”

Rahi missed the cut for the Hangzhou Asian Games where Esha announced herself as one of India’s leading 25m pistol shooters. Sporadic competitive appearances followed in 2024 without success and Rahi lost her place in the Indian team.

“That was a rude shock. I think it was the first time in 15-17 years that I wasn’t good enough to make the Indian team. But I had no option but to stay humble and bide my time.”

Rahi’s return to the practice range was equally humbling. For an athlete used to training 6-7 hours a day, firing a half-decent shot became tough. “I just couldn’t stand still. It needed tremendous mental strength. I had to create neuropathic pathways again. It was a slow process but I kept pushing, one step at a time. It was like starting from scratch,” she recalled.

A gold in the 2025 National Games in Uttarakhand was a reminder that the skills hadn’t totally deserted her. She made it back to the national squad and competed in Cairo World Championships, Ningbo and Munich editions of World Cup, Asian Championships in Shymkent — all in 2025.

The comeback took a decisive turn in 2026 when Rahi won the selection trials (T4) that pushed her to the third spot in national rankings, behind Esha and Manu. “I had forgotten how to stand still. And here I am, still standing, still fighting.”

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