Chandro Tomar
Prakasho Tomar is an octogenarian and sharp shooter from the village of Johri in the Bagpat district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. She is also known as "Dadi Chandro" ('Dadi' meaning: "grandmother" in Hindi). Since learning to shoot in 2002, she has attained national fame as an accomplished shooter, having won more than 25 national championships. She is regularly referred to as the oldest (woman) sharpshooter in the world.[1][2][3]
Biography
Tomar has six children and 15 grandchildren.[4] She began learning to shoot by chance, when her granddaughter wanted to learn how to shoot at Johri Rifle Club. Her granddaughter was scared to go alone and wanted her grandmother to accompany her. At the range, Tomar took a pistol and start shooting at a target. The club coach, Farooq Pathan, was surprised to see her shoot so skillfully. He suggested she join the club and get trained to become a shooter, which Tomar did. Her trainer commented: "She has the ultimate skill, a steady hand and a sharp eye."[3] Chandro owns a pistol costing £1,200; she shoots wearing her conventional village attire, with a sari covering her head that she tucks if the wind disrupts it.[5]
She attends the club once a week for shooting practice and otherwise attends to her household chores of cooking, cleaning, tending to cattle and feeding her large family. After dinner is served, she takes up shooting practice at her private range.[5]
Shooting runs in the family as noted from the fact that her daughter Seema, also a sharp shooter, was the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Rifle and Pistol World Cup in 2010. Her grand daughter Neetu Solanki had achieved an international shooter status and taken part in international competitions in Hungary and Germany; both of them credit Tomar for the positive encouragement provided and praised her for advising them.[3]
After two years of training she entered a competition in which she had to compete against the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Delhi Police. She won the contest but the DIG refused to be photographed with Tomar, and reportedly commented: "What photograph, I have been humiliated by a woman".[6]
Since 2002, Chandro has competed in and won 25 national championships throughout India. She won a gold medal at the Veteran Shooting Championship conducted in Chennai.[6] Her success has encouraged the local people to take up shooting as a useful sporting profession, including her granddaughters.[7]
References
- ^ "Indian grandma 'world's oldest women sharpshooter' at 78". Daily News and Analysis. 23 March 2012.
- ^ "Modern Indian Women: The Pioneers". Dadi Chandro, the sharpshooting grandmother. Ministry of External Affairs.
- ^ a b c "Chandro Tomar, 78-Year-Old Indian Grandmother, May Be World's Oldest Sharpshooter". The Huffington Post. 25 March 2012.
- ^ Hrylova, Tatyana. "Chandro Tomar, Who Shoots and Doesnʼt Miss". The Age of Happiness. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Dirty Harry (Krishna): Indian grandmother, 78, is believed to be the world's oldest professional sharpshooter". The Daily Mail. 22 March 2012.
- ^ a b Haleem, Suhail (11 July 2011). "India's sharp-shooter granny fighting male domination". BBC News.
- ^ "At 78, Chandro Tomar guns for glory". The Times of India. 25 June 2012.