India, April 20 -- Moments after his 10m air rifle final in Lima, Arjun Babuta walked up to coach Deepali Deshpande with some words. "He told me, 'ma'am, aaj Olympics ke baad first time mazaa aaya final mein (I enjoyed a final for the first time after the Olympics)'," Deepali said.

For months after the Paris Olympics in July-August last year where he finished a painful fourth, Babuta was left bereft of that joy. He didn't feel like picking up his rifle, firing those shots, chasing the medals. On Saturday, as he stood with his rifle in hand after winning silver at the ISSF World Cup Lima, he raised both his arms and let out a loud roar.

The joy was back. So was the belief-boosting medal.

After three years of wait - he last won an indivi...