Vijay Kumar (sport shooter)

Last updated

Vijay Kumar Sharma
AVSM, SM
The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Shri Award to Shri Vijay Kumar, at an Investiture Ceremony-II, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 20, 2013.jpg
The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Shri Award to Vijay Kumar, in 2013
Personal details
Born (1985-08-19) 19 August 1985 (age 37)
Harsour, Hamirpur
Himachal Pradesh, India
Military service
AllegianceFlag of India.svg  India
Branch/serviceFlag of Indian Army.svg  Indian Army
Years of service2001 – 2017
Rank Captain of the Indian Army.svg Honorary Captain
Awards Padma Shri
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Sena Medal
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Arjuna Award
Sports career
Sport Shooting
Event(s) 25 metre rapid fire pistol

Honorary Captain Vijay Kumar Sharma, AVSM, SM (born 19 August 1985) is an Indian sport shooter. He won the silver medal in the individual 25 metre rapid fire pistol event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. [2] Kumar hails from Barsar village of Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh and is a retired Subedar Major (Warrant Officer Class I) in the Dogra Regiment (16th Battalion) Indian Army, who was later promoted to Honorary Captain Rank. [3] Vijay Kumar is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest initiative. He is the only Indian to have won a medal at 25m rapid Fire Pistol . He has been posted at Indian Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Mhow since 2003 where he is being coached by the Russian Pavel Smirnov.

Contents

Early life and background

Born in Himachal Pradesh, Kumar is the son of Banku Ram, a retired Indian Army subedar , and his wife Roshni Devi. According to his father, while Kumar was "always intrigued" by his father's guns, he only developed his interest in shooting after enlisting in the Indian Army. [4] Kumar joined the Indian Army in 2001 as a sepoy (private), and was inducted into the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) at Mhow in 2003. His prowess ensured him a direct promotion from sepoy to havildar (sergeant) by 2006. [5] He was promoted to naib subedar on 20 April 2006. [6]

Shooting career

Early career (2006-2009)

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he won two gold medals: the individual 25 meter rapid fire pistol competition and the pairs competition in the same event together with Pemba Tamang. The same year, he won a bronze medal in the Asian Games. [7] In 2006, he was awarded the Arjuna award by the Indian government. [8]

In 2007, he finished second at the Asian Championship in 25 metre center-fire pistol. He also won a silver medal at the 2009 ISSF World Cup Beijing in rapid fire pistol, where he was defeated by 0.1 points. He was promoted to subedar on 10 February 2009 (seniority from 1 July 2008) [9]

Commonwealth and Olympic glory (2010-14)

In the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he won three gold medals and one silver. In 25 metre rapid fire pistol pairs, Gurpreet Singh and Vijay Kumar won the gold medal scoring 1162 points, setting a new Commonwealth games record. He won the 25 meter rapid fire pistol singles event and also teamed up with Harpreet Singh to win the 25-metre center fire pistol pairs event. In the 25-metre centre fire pistol singles, he finished second winning a silver, losing out to fellow Indian Harpreet Singh.

Kumar won the Silver Medal in the 25 m rapid fire pistol event at 2012 London Olympics. [10] He finished with an average score of 9.767 and had a score of 293 with 7 inner 10s in the first stage. Vijay's silver was the second medal for India at London 2012. [11] Earlier Kumar failed to qualify for the men's 10 m air pistol finals after finishing 31st on 28 July 2012. [12]

Kumar was chosen to be the Indian flagbearer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. [8] The Indian trio of Vijay Kumar, Pemba Tamang and Gurpreet Singh won the silver medal in the 25m center fire event at the 2014 Asian Games, held at Incheon, South Korea. The team scored a total of 1740, two behind gold medalists China. [13]

Later career

Vijay Kumar retired from the army in 2017, after 15 years of service. As of 2019, he is finishing a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Manav Rachna University in Faridabad, and has been offered a direct-entry position as deputy superintendent of police (DSP) by the Himachal Pradesh state government. [14]

Performance timelines

25 metre rapid fire pistol

20022006200720082009201020112012201320142015
Olympic GamesNot heldNot heldSilver medal icon.svg Silver Not held
World ChampionshipsNot held 34th
569
Not held 11th
578
Not held 36th
569
Not held
Asian Games/AC4th
577+198.3
14th
566
Not held7th
577
Not held
Commonwealth GamesNot heldGold medal icon.svg Gold
581+197.2
Not heldGold medal icon.svg Gold
583+204.5
Not held 8th
274
Not held
World Cup 1 19th
575
35th
561
10th
577
World Cup 2 12th
576
34th
567
8th
580
Silver medal icon.svg Silver
581+199.4
World Cup 3 37th
568
14th
572
15th
577
16th
576
World Cup 4 38th
560
25th
573
40th
567
33rd
562
21st
572
World Cup FinalNQNQNQyes Qualified

25 metre center-fire pistol

20062007
World Championships 27th
577
Not held
Asian Games/AC9th
580
Silver medal icon.svg Silver
582
Commonwealth GamesNot held

25-metre standard pistol

2007
World ChampionshipsNot held
Asian Games/AC12th
562
Commonwealth GamesNot heldOlympics 12Not held

10 metre air pistol

2005
Olympic GamesNot held
World Championships2nd
Asian Games/AC
Commonwealth GamesNot held
World Cup 1
World Cup 2
World Cup 389th
560
World Cup 473rd
564
World Cup FinalNQ

Awards and recognition

For winning the silver medal at 2012 London Olympics:

Medal bar

Padma Shri Ribbon.svg Ati Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg
Sena Medal ribbon.svg IND Meritorious Service Medal Ribbon.svg IND 50th Anniversary Independence medal.svg IND 9YearsServiceMedalRibbon.svg
Padma Shri Ati Vishist Seva Medal
Sena Medal Meritorious Service Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

[21]

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References

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  2. Vijay Kumar bags silver in London Olympics 2012
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  4. Bisht, Gaurav (4 August 2012). "Subedar from Himachal village conquers London". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  5. Bisht, Gaurav (4 August 2012). "The rise & rise of Subedar Vijay Kumar". Times of India. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  6. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 23 September 2006. p. 1344.
  7. "Vijay kumar wins bronze in Asian games" . Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Glasgow 2014 - Vijay Kumar Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  9. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 11 July 2009. p. 1198.
  10. "Vijay Kumar shoots silver medal in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol at London 2012 Olympics". Olympics Medal Tally. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  11. "Olympics Shooting: Vijay Kumar wins Silver in 25m rapid fire pistol, becomes the fourth Indian shooter to win a medal in Olympics".
  12. "Vijay Kumar fails to qualify for 10m Air Pistol finals". The Times of India . London. Press Trust of India. 29 July 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  13. "Asian Games: Indian men win 25m centre fire pistol silver". rediff news. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  14. Srinivasan, Kamesh (10 January 2019). "Olympic silver medallist Vijay turns cop". Sportstar - The Hindu. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  15. "Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards Announced". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  16. "359 Republic Day Gallantry and other Defence Decorations Announced".
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  20. "Rajasthan announces cash awards for Olympic winners Vijay Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and others". The Times Of India. 13 August 2012.
  21. "Vijay Kumar : Services Best Sportsman". Hillpost. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2019.