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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
2002 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Olympic Games | Not held | — | Not held | Silver | Not held | ||||||
World Championships | Not held | 34th 569 | Not held | 11th 578 | Not held | 36th 569 | Not held | ||||
Asian Games/AC | 4th 577+198.3 | 14th 566 | Not held | 7th 577 | Not held | ||||||
Commonwealth Games | Not held | Gold 581+197.2 | Not held | 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 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 Final | NQ | NQ | NQ | yes | Qualified |
2006 | 2007 | |
---|---|---|
World Championships | 27th 577 | Not held |
Asian Games/AC | 9th 580 | Silver 582 |
Commonwealth Games | — | Not held |
2007 | |||
---|---|---|---|
World Championships | Not held | ||
Asian Games/AC | 12th 562 | ||
Commonwealth Games | Not held | Olympics 12 | Not held |
2005 | |
---|---|
Olympic Games | Not held |
World Championships | 2nd |
Asian Games/AC | — |
Commonwealth Games | Not held |
World Cup 1 | — |
World Cup 2 | — |
World Cup 3 | 89th 560 |
World Cup 4 | 73rd 564 |
World Cup Final | NQ |
For winning the silver medal at 2012 London Olympics:
Padma Shri | Ati Vishist Seva Medal | ||
Sena Medal | Meritorious Service Medal | 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal |
Gagan Narang is an Indian sport shooter, supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. He won the bronze medal in the Men's 10 m Air Rifle Event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with a final score of 701.1 on 30 July 2012.
Samaresh Jung is an Indian sport shooter. He is an air pistol specialist. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, he won two gold medals, in the men's free pistol pairs and in the open event of 25 m standard pistol pairs, both in partnership with Jaspal Rana. He contested in the 10 m air pistol and 50 m pistol events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but failed to reach the finals in both events.
Jaspal Rana is an Indian shooter. He contested mainly in the 25 m Centre Fire Pistol category. He was a gold medallist at the 1994 Asian Games, 1998 Commonwealth Games - Men's Center Fire Pistol, Men's Center Fire Pistol Pairs, 2002 Commonwealth Games - Men's 25m Center Fire Pistol, 2006 Commonwealth Games - Men's 25m Center Fire Pistol Pairs, and 2006 Asian Games. At present, Rana coaches at the Jaspal Rana Institute of Education and Technology in Dehradun.
Pemba Tamang is an Indian sport shooter. He won the gold medal in the Men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol (Pairs) with Vijay Kumar and the silver medal in the Men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Master Chief Petty Officer Sanjeev Rajput is an Arjuna Awardee Indian sport shooter from Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. He was a retired Junior Commissioned Officer in Indian Navy.
Manavjit Singh Sandhu is an Indian sport shooter who specializes in trap shooting. He is a Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee in 2006 and Arjuna Awardee in 1998. He is a 4 time Olympian, having represented India at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics the London 2012 Summer Olympics and the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. He is former World No. 1 ranked Trap Shooter.
Keith Sanderson is an American sport shooter and holds the Olympic record for the qualification round of 25 meter rapid fire pistol. After winning the qualification round, he fell back during the final and finished fifth, the same position he had reached in the 2006 World Championships. He has four medals from ISSF World Cups: a bronze from Munich 2007, a gold from Beijing 2009, where he defeated Vijay Kumar by 0.1 point in the final, another bronze from Munich 2009, and the gold Fort Benning, Georgia where he won by 7 shots. He will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, following a suspension by the United States Center for SafeSport.
Rahi Jeevan Sarnobat is a female athlete from India who competes in the 25 metre pistol shooting event. She won her first gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India. She is the first woman to win a gold medal in shooting at the Asian Games for India – she won the gold at the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games in the women's 25 metre pistol event. She won two gold medals in 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the first of the two golds in coming in the 25 metre pistol pair event with Anisa Sayyed. She had previously won gold in the 25 metre pistol event at the 2008 Youth Commonwealth Games, which were held in India.
Subedar Gurpreet Singh is an Indian sports shooter. He won two gold medals in shooting events at the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in India. He paired up with Vijay Kumar to win a gold in the Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (Pairs) on 7 October 2010. On the same day, he and Omkar Singh won another gold medal in the Men's 10m Air Pistol (Pairs). He also won an individual bronze in Men's 25m rapid fire pistol (Singles) at the event. He hails from and is currently serving the Indian army.
Master Chief Petty Officer Omkar Singh is an Indian sports shooter. He won three gold medals and a silver medal in shooting events at the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi. He hails from Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh and is currently serving the Indian Navy.
Ronjan Sodhi is an Indian Double trap shooter. He won two silver medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games. In 2011, he became first Indian to successfully defend a World Cup title. He is also a recipient of the Arjuna Award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award (2013).
Heena Sidhu is an Indian sport shooter. On 7 April 2014, Sidhu became the first Indian pistol shooter to reach number one in world rankings by the International Shooting Sport Federation. In 2013, Sidhu became the first Indian pistol shooter to win a gold medal in an ISSF World Cup finals when she won the 10-metre air pistol event. In 2014, Sidhu was the World record holder in the 10-metre air pistol event with a final score of 203.8. Sidhu is right handed and is right eye dominant.
Shooting is an important Olympic sport in India. Of India's 35 Olympic medals, four have come from shooting, including a gold by Abhinav Bindra in the 2008 Olympics. Indian shooters who have excelled at international events include Abhinav Bindra, Jaspal Rana, Jitu Rai, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Kumar, Gagan Narang, Apurvi Chandela, Ronjan Sodhi, Anjali Bhagwat, Heena Sidhu, Shreyasi Singh, Manu Bhaker, Anisa Sayyed, Rahi Sarnobat and Saurabh Chaudhary.
Joydeep Karmakar is an Indian sports shooter from Kolkata, West Bengal. He represented India in rifle prone events in various championships. started his sports career in 1989. He became a Junior National Champion in his first Nationals in 1994. He has represented India in 28 World Cups 2 Commonwealth Games 1 Asian Games 3 World Championships. He qualified to represent India at London 2012 Summer Olympics in men's 50 metre rifle prone event. His career best world ranking is 4th and in Asia 1st in 2010 to 2012.
The men's ISSF 25 meter rapid fire pistol event at the 2012 Olympic Games was held on 2 and 3 August 2012 at the Royal Artillery Barracks. There were 18 competitors from 13 nations. The event was won by Leuris Pupo of Cuba. Silver went to Vijay Kumar of India, while Ding Feng of China took bronze. It was the first medal in the event for all three nations. Ralf Schumann missed the final for the first time; he had reached the final in the previous six Games.
Roman Romanovych Bondaruk is a Ukrainian sport shooter.
Apurvi Singh Chandela is an Indian Shooting player who competes in the 10 metre air rifle event. She won the gold medal in the 2019 ISSF World Cup in New Delhi. She is a recipient of Arjuna award.
Jitu Rai is an Indian Army Subedar Major who competes in the 10 metre air pistol and 50 metre pistol events. The Government of India announced the Khel Ratna Award for him in 2016. In 2020, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India.
Anish Bhanwala is an Indian pistol shooter. He is from Karnal Haryana and competes in the 25 meter rapid fire pistol, 25 meter pistol, and 25 meter standard pistol events. Anish joined the Indian Shooting Team in 2017. He represented India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2018 Asian Games, ISSF Junior World Championship 2017 (Suhl), Commonwealth Shooting Championships 2017 (Brisbane), World Shooting Championships 2018 and numerous ISSF Senior and Junior World Cups and South Asian Games, Kathmandu.
Saurabh Chaudhary is an Indian sport shooter. He won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in 10 m Air Pistol. He was the youngest Indian gold medalist at the Asian Games. He had earlier won gold medals and set a new junior world record in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. He is the only Indian shooter to win a gold medal in ISSF World Championship, ISSF World Cup, Youth Olympic Games, Asian Games and Asian Air Gun Championship. He broke his own world record with a score of 245.5 and claimed gold in Junior Men 10m Air Pistol at 2018 World Championship in Changwon, Korea.