Losing an Olympic medal by a few decimal points could be among the most anguishing experiences in life and Arjun Babuta, who missed the bronze in finals of the men’s 10m air rifle in the Paris Games by a whisker, on Saturday described the moment as if he had lost someone very close.

The Chandigarh-based Babuta, who joined a handful of nearly-there Indian athletes to finish fourth in the Olympics, said the feeling could not be explained in words.

“I did put in the effort (in the run-up to Paris) and I went numb the moment I looked at the screen, which showed I had finished fourth. It felt like I lost somebody very close to me in my life,” the 25-year-old rifle marksman said on Saturday.

“I didn’t know how to react. I was crying immediately... I was laughing immediately. I was again crying while talking. So, I really didn’t know what to do about it,” the India rifle ace, who has two World Cupgold medals and a top podium finish in the Asian Championships, said.

“It was not a great feeling. I was deserving (a medal), I would say,” he added.

Since a very young age, Babuta has been through an entire gamut of hardships — mostly health-related — where he had to leave shooting for three years (2018-2020) to tend to his back problem.

One of the biggest health issues that rifle exponents face is in the backbone, which takes a lot of punishment because of the awkward stance of the shooters.

“That was a very difficult phase, for sure. I felt very alone during that time... I was going through the pain of my back injury and my personal life was not great either,” the marksman said.

“It was like I had hit rock bottom.”

The mind kept reminding Babuta that his redemption was in returning to the ‘firing lane’ as quickly as possible and he was back in 2020.

With countless hours spent at the range, Babuta eventually realised his dream of making it to Paris. He says that had he planned a bit more, he could have won gold.

“I did try my best. So many months went into planning. I would say that this is part of destiny as well (to finish fourth).”

Babuta has been able to zero in on the reason which led to him finishing fourth and says he will be more careful in upcoming competitions.

“I should have given some more emphasis on equipment check and equipment furnishing. I would say that I did try to get my pellets tested (in Germany and Pune) and all that but I didn’t get the chance to practise a lot with those pellets.

“I think I would have easily won gold that day (in Paris). I was so focused. I was in a such a great frame of mind during the competition.

“I would say that day and technically also I was just doing great but it was not destined to be that day.”

Babuta will next be competing in the World Cup Final, which will be held at the Karni Singh Range herefrom October 13 and he is hungry for success.