A 78-year-old Indian woman is believed to be the oldest professional sniper in the world.
Chandro Tomar has participated in and won more than 25 National Shooting Championships in India, in addition to raising 6 children and 15 grandchildren.
“I wanted to do something useful with my life and show people my capabilities. As soon as I fired my first pistol, I was hooked. And now I have shown everyone that my age has no disadvantages. If you are focused, you can do anything.” , said.
There is nothing wrong with trying, as they say.
“While I was waiting, I decided to give it a try. The coach saw me and was amazed at my aim with the pistol. He told me to come back and I did. Initially I was just supporting my granddaughter in her shooting practice, but I enjoyed it so much that it became a passion and I really wanted to go to the shooting club every week, “he said.
Indian village women have traditionally been relegated to agricultural and domestic work, given low regard for their position in society. Especially the province that Chandro Tomar hails for, Haryana, is strongly patriarchal and infamous for the repression of its women. This makes the achievement of Tomar even more commendable.
While Tomar took care of his daily chores on his farm and raised his family, he practiced his marksmanship whenever he could, using rocks and throwing them into water bottles.
“I was surprised when I saw a retiree in our group, but she learned the sport of 10-meter shooting with an air pistol pretty quickly,” said the club’s coach.
“She was so good that some of the men stopped showing up altogether to avoid being humiliated by her, an old woman. She has the ultimate skill, a steady hand and a keen eye,” she said. “His dedication to the sport is amazing and his focus is something young people can learn a lot from.”
Now she is a national treasure, known throughout India for her skill, she even won gold at the Veterans Shooting Championship held in Chennai, India.
Competitive 10m airgun shooting is a game that involves very little physical movement, making it easy for people of all ages and sizes to embrace it as a sport.
If Chandro Tomar can do it, why can’t you?
Shooting is most popular as a sport in the northern Indian states of Haryana and Punjab. The new and modern shooting ranges in Jalandhar, Punjab offer budding shooters an exciting opportunity to excel on the competitive 10-meter shooting range. National-level coaches train on fields made to Olympic standards, and sponsors prepare for shooting championships at the state and national levels.