Chandro Tomar is the Indian professional sharpshooter. She is referred to as the oldest sharpshooter in the world. She has won more than 30 national championships.
Wiki/Biography/Career
Chandro Tomar was born in the year 1932 (age 87 years; as in 2019). She belongs to the village Johri of the Bagpat District of Uttar Pradesh. She hails from a family with an agricultural background and was married at the age of 15. Tomar never received a formal education. She took up shooting as her career in the seventh decade of her life. It all happened when her granddaughter, Shefali, wanted to learn shooting and decided to enrol herself at the Johri Rifle Club. Shefali felt shy to go alone to an all-boys shooting club and asked Tomar to accompany her. One day when her granddaughter, Shefali, was not able to load the rifle, Tomar stepped in to help her and made a shot at the target. Her first short resulted in a bull’s eye hit. The club coach, Farooq Pathan, was surprised to see her skills and suggested her to join the club and receive proper training. On his advice, Chandro received extensive training for 2 years and went take part in the state level and national level shooting championships.
She won a silver medal in her first North Zone Championship. Since 1999, Tomar has competed in and won more than 30 national championships throughout India. She won a gold medal at the veteran shooting championship held in Chennai. In 2016, Chandro competed in her last event in Delhi and won a bronze medal. After 2016, Tomar continued coaching youngsters, addressing gatherings, and inaugurating various sports institutions.
Tomar has also featured in various TV shows including “Satyamev Jayate,” “India Got Talent,” and History TV’s “OMG! Ye Mera India.”
In 2019, a film titled ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ based on the biography of Tomar and her sister-in-law, Prakashi Tomar, was made by Tushar Hiranandani. The Bollywood actresses Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar roped in to play the roles of Chandro and Prakashi.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: White
Eye Colour: Black
Family, Caste & Husband
Chandro Tomar belongs to a Jat Family. Not much is known about her husband. She has three sons and three daughters. Tomar has 15 grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Shefali Tomar, is an international shooter. Her niece, Seema, is also a sharpshooter; who became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Rifle and Pistol World Cup in 2010. Chandro’s sister-in-law, Prakashi Tomar, is also a sharpshooter.
Awards
- Senior Citizen – National Award
- HT Woman 2017
- Devi Award
- Shram Shakti Award
Facts
- Her hobby is doing yoga.
- She is fondly known as Shooter Dadi and Revolver Dadi.
- Chandro lives in an extended family of 40 persons.
- Although Tomar has never received formal education, she is a quick learner when it comes sharpshooting and learning basic English.
- Initially, her husband neither supported nor opposed her passion for shooting but as she excelled in her field, her husband encouraged her as well as the other members of the family.
- She owns a pistol worth £1,200.
- Tomar shoots while wearing traditional village attires, with a saree. She covers her head in order to avoid the disturbance of the wind.
- When the household chores stopped her from going to the shooting range, Chandro carried her practise by throwing stones at bottles filled with water in her back yard.
- When asked in an interview whether people fear her, Chandro replied-
- Tomar entered into a competition after two years of training in which she defeated the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of the Delhi Police. When the DSP was asked to come for the presentation ceremony, he reportedly refused saying he’d been beaten by an old woman.