THE QUEENS OF GUNS – PART 1
They Rule in Every Way
2019 was a game-changing year for the country when India topped the medal tally in all four ISSF stages, with 22 medals in total and 16 of them being gold. It was an incredible achievement for the country because after 2 decades of patience, hard work, and the consistency of our shooters we finally reached the top. India currently has some of the most terrific and talented shooters in the world, who have beaten the world’s best shooters and earned top rankings. It has been a collective effort by all the shooters but there are some women shooters who have done incredibly well and we wanted to embrace their sparkling performance over the years. Women have made a significant place in the sport and continue to take over competitive shooting. Today male and female shooters enjoy the same status and recognition in shooting as the number of women taking up shooting shot up immensely. This article will take you through the inspiring stories of those India’s Top Women Shooters who have made India proud.
Rahi Sarnobat, who was the first female shooter to qualify for the Olympics in the 25M Pistol Category, has recently shown an incredible comeback and we have to talk about it. She had an elbow injury and was forced to take a gap of 2 years, but that did not come in the way of her love for the sport. She hustled and made a very strong comeback by earning the Olympic quota and is going to represent the country in 2021 in Tokyo. The 27-year-old shooter from Maharashtra was the first Indian Pistol Shooter to win a gold medal in the world cup and also the first-ever Indian women to win an individual gold medal in the Asian Games in 2018.
In the category of 10M Air Rifle Shooting, we have three Indian Women shooters in the top 5 ranks. Elavenil Valarivan, who is just 20 years old, is on the top holding the 1st Rank all over the world. In the past two years, she has brought home many medals and has broken records of the best shooters in the world. Anjum Moudgil, who is currently holding the 4th rank in the world, is much more than just a shooter. Apart from being a shooter, she is also an artist and during the pandemic, she sold her paintings in collaboration with Play India to help those adversely affected due to the pandemic, for example, the support staff that’s needed for the smooth functioning of ranges on a daily basis. She also worked on customized diaries and sent the proceeds to an NGO working for cancer patients. Apurvi Chandela is also part of the Top 5 world rankings in 10M Air Rifle Shooting and has shown a consistent performance in international events over the years. She won the gold medal in the 2019 ISSF World Cup in New Delhi. All three of them are going to represent India in the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
Young Women have been breaking their senior’s records and climbing to the top. Manu Bhaker, who is just 18 years old, is currently ranked 2nd in the 10M Air Pistol category in the world. She is called the ‘Jack of All Trades and the Master of One’. She became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the ISSF world cup in the year 2018 which recently won her the prestigious Arjuna award. Next in the line is Yashaswini Singh Deswal who is ranked 4th in the world in the same category. She won the gold medal in the 10M Air Pistol Event at the 2019 ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. Both of them are going to represent the country in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The last two shooters that we are going to talk about are the eldest women sharp-shooters in the world. The world-famous “Dadi shooters”, Chandro Tomarand Prakashi Tomar. Recently a movie was made based on their story “Sand ki Ankh”. Chandro Tomar started shooting at the age of 60 and is the eldest woman shooter in the world and she has also won more than 30 national championships. Her sister-in-law, Prakashi Tomar is the 2nd eldest shooter in the world. Prakashi Tomar is an icon and has been felicitated as the “ICON LADY” by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2017. They both have Instagram handles and have become very active on it and are inspiring people with their daily dose of Instagram posts.
Many more India’s women shooters have been hitting the bullseye at different international events like CWG, Asian Shooting Championship, and ISSF World Cup and continue to make our country proud. They inspire boys and girls around the country to take up shooting and many young shooters look up to them as idols. The world is looking forward to these Indian women shooters performing in the 2021 Summer Olympics as we have some of the best ones around the world. If you liked this article and also think that these women are Rockstar’s then show them, and us, some love by commenting below. We’ll be back soon with more motivating stories and articles.