Vijay Kumar (sport shooter)

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Honorary Captain
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 36)
Harsour, Hamirpur
Himachal Pradesh, India
NationalityIndian
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of service2001 – 2017
RankCaptain of the Indian Army.svg Honorary Captain
AwardsPadma Shri
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Sena Medal
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Arjuna Award
Sports career
SportShooting
Event(s)25 metre rapid fire pistol
Medal record
Men's shooting[1]
Representing  India
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games – 1 –
Commonwealth Games 5 1 –
Asian Games - 1 2
ISSF World Shooting Championship - 2 -
Total 5 5 2
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 25 m rapid fire pistol
ISSF World Shooting Championships
Silver medal – second place 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
Silver medal – second place 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (Pairs)
Gold medal – first place 2010 Delhi 25 metre rapid fire pistol pairs
Gold medal – first place 2010 Delhi 25 metre rapid fire pistol singles
Gold medal – first place 2010 Delhi 25-metre centre fire pistol pairs
Silver medal – second place 2010 Delhi 25-metre centre fire pistol singles
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon 25m Centre Fire Pistol (Team)
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou 25m Centre 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.

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[]

2002 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Olympic Games Not held — Not held 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 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 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold
581+197.2 		Not held 1st place, gold medalist(s) 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 		2nd place, silver medalist(s) 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

25 metre center-fire pistol[]

2006 2007
World Championships 27th
577 		Not held
Asian Games/AC 9th
580 		2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver
582
Commonwealth Games — Not held

25-metre standard pistol[]

2007
World Championships Not held
Asian Games/AC 12th
562
Commonwealth Games Not held Olympics 12 Not held

10 metre air pistol[]

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

Awards and recognition[]

For winning the silver medal at 2012 London Olympics:

  • Promotion from subedar to subedar-major on 12 August 2012.[18]
  • ₹1 crore (US$130,000) cash award by the Government of Himachal Pradesh[19]
  • ₹50 lakh (US$66,000) by the Government of Rajasthan.[20]

Medal bar[]

Padma Shri Ati Vishist Seva Medal
Sena Medal Meritorious Service Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

[21]

References[]

  1. ^ "ISSF - International Shooting Sport Federation - issf-sports.org". www.issf-sports.org. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  2. ^ Vijay Kumar bags silver in London Olympics 2012
  3. ^ a b NDTV Sports (3 August 2012). "Profile: Vijay Kumar". NDTV. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  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. ^ a b "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".
  17. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 8 June 2013. p. 871.
  19. ^ "Vijay Kumar wins Olympic silver: Re 1 cash reward announced". The Economic Times. 3 August 2012.
  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.

External links[]

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