India, June 5 -- Not many professional shooters describe their process as succinctly as Suruchi Phogat. The latest 10m air pistol sensation to emerge from domestic ranges couldn't care less about techniques such as visualisation or meditation or even the flow state that shooters fret over. Neither does she bother about shooting against Olympic medallists or much-accomplished competitors. "It's simple. I just pick up the gun and shoot. It's not a very complicated sport," she said when asked to explain her process.

One may be tempted to attribute her assessment to inexperience at the elite level, but the results belie any trace of fluke or complacency. Four medals from her first two senior World Cups in Buenos Aires and Lima this April, in...