Indian Army proud to contribute 35% sportsman for CWG 2010

The Chief of Army Staff, General V.K. Singh presenting a cheque of Rs. one lac to Seema Tomar, an ace trap (shotgun) shooter, in New Delhi on July 12, 2010. Photo no.CNR - 32485
Monday,12 July 2010
Seema Tomar, an ace trap (shotgun) shooter was enrolled by the Indian Army in 2004 under sports quota as part of ‘Mission Olympic Programme’ with a view to nurture young talent into an elite sportsperson to excel in National/ International shooting competitions.

Seema Tomar with her hard work, undeterred commitment and sheer dedication with the matching support by the Indian Army has shown steady improvement since 2004. The individual has done the Country proud by becoming the first Indian woman shooter to have won the individual silver medal at the ISSF Word Cup (shotgun) held at Dorset (UK) from 11-20 May 2010 by shooting a score of 88/100.

So far Seema Tomar has won 12 Gold, 04 Silver & 02 Bronze medals at various National/ International Shooting competitions. Besides this, she has been the undisputed National Champion in her event for last three years. In recognition of her achievement COAS has presented her with an cash incentive of Rs 1 lakh.

The individual is presently training at Army Shooting Node, Mhow for the forthcoming World Championship (Munich, Germany) and Commonwealth/ Asian Games (Delhi, India/ Guangzhou, China). She definitely is the Nation’s medal hope in the trap (shotgun) event in the above Championships.

Under ‘Mission Olympic Programme’, Indian Army is training young budding talent in select sports disciplines in five Sports Nodes, in World Class environment, for excellence in various National/ International Championships, with an overall aim to win ‘Olympic Medal’. The Indian Army is proud to contribute almost 35% sportsmen to the Indian Core Group Training for CWG/ Asian Games 2010.
The Sharp Shooter

Picture Shooters in contrast

Olympic shooter wins Gold Medal & Government awards Rs 300,00,000. A NSG Commando shoots the terrorist and lays down his life defending Mumbai and his award is Rs 5,00,000. What is the worth of a Jawan defending the Nation? Think about it!

Abhinav Bindra Wins Gold For India: Video

Bindra makes Indian Sports History
********मेरा भारत महान************
क्या बात हे। बोहुत बादिया।

Dear Friends,
A great deal has been written and said about Abhinav's father, Dr AS Bindra, since yesterday. I thought some mention should have also been made of Dr Bindra's father; the late, Col Bir Singh. This is intended to fill that gap.
Col Bir Singh was in the ASC Center (North) at Meerut Cantt during 1962-65. Many of his close relatives were in the army. Col Bir Singh's daughter, Dolly, is married to Brig (Retd) GS Lamba (16th NDA, Engineers).
But, like most other pragmatic 'faujis' of the yesteryear, the family drifted out of military service, and in the current generation not even one of their kinsfolk has looked towards the Service Academies as a career option. However, the link with shooting seems to show out still!
Regards,
Maj Gen Surjit Singh (Retd)

India Strikes Gold at Beijing

Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men's 10m air rifle. Bindra had been fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and the Indian, the epitome of tranquillity, hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last shot to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who fell to bronze with a poor final shot.

That late stumble by the Finn allowed China's Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to salvage a bitter day with silver. Zhu sobbed uncontrollably on the podium and again at a news conference.

"I can't describe how happy I am," the ever-calm Bindra told journalists. "It's the thrill of my life. That's about it. It's hard to describe. I just went for it. I knew I was lying in fourth. Thankfully it went my way and I just went for it."

Bindra, who faced criticism for failing to deliver on the great promise he showed as a child, said he was not thinking about making history in India with a first individual gold medal. In fact, he said, he was "not thinking about anything".

"I was just trying to concentrate on shooting," he said. "I wasn't thinking of making history. I was two points behind the leaders. I was just trying to shoot good shots. I wanted to shoot well and shoot aggressively. And that's what I did."

His 10.8 of a possible 10.9 on his final shot sparked loud celebrations from group of fans from India. Hakkinen, who was even with Bindra before his mere 9.7 on his last shot, said that crucial shot felt like the nine before it. "It just wasn't my turn," he said. "It shows that shooting is a sport from the first to the final shot. Every one counts."

Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and former shooter who was present at the range, was stricken by nerves as the competition reached its climax. "I haven't prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he (Bindra) shot a 10.8. It couldn't have got better," he told Indian television.

Bindra won the 2006 world championships and finished seventh in Athens four years ago.
Bindra shoots India to first gold
The Blog Team, all Veterans and readers extend our hearty congratulations to Abhinav Bindra.

Army Contigent picks up 18 Golds at 51st National Championships

Anuja Jung who won the 50m rifle three-position gold at the National Shooting Championships

Russian coaches add firepower to Indian Army shooters. The introduction of Russian coaches and construction of new shooting ranges have added much-need firepower in the arsenal of the shooters from the Indian Army, who put an impressive display to emerge on top at the 51st National Championships held here.

Members of the Army contingent which collected 18 golds, 11 silver and eight bronze medals attribute their victory to the new Russian coaches Pavel Smirenov and Alexander Sidvorov. The Army has roped in Pavel as a pistol coach, while Alexander is the rifle coach. "Both these coaches are former Olympians and they bring a lot of match experience with them," says Subedar Pemba Tamang of the Gorkha Regiment who won gold in the Rapid-fire pistol event. "Though these coaches have been with us for the last two months or so, they have contributed in improving our technique and temparament," added Tamang.

"They have passed on some small, but vital information regarding our technique like standing posture or positioning of the shooting arm," said the shooter from Military Headquarters of War (MHOW). "They also teach us how to mentally approach a closely-fought game," said Tamang, who also put up impressive performances in the team category at the Nationals.

Nayab Subedar Vijay Kumar from the Dongra regiment who won a silver at the Nationals says "These coaches also advise us about the dietary patterns that we must undertake before going for a crucial match". "These coaches are on a one-year contract with the Indian Army. They had joined us about two months back," said Major R S Rai, the OIC (Officer-in-charge) of the pistol team.

One of the Russian coaches, Pavel Smirenow, said "I have earlier coached Syrian, Iranian and Soviet teams. Shooting is a sport where problems differ from shooter to shooter," said Pavel, adding he was working on certain individual technical problems faced by Indian shooters. Pavel did not wish to elaborate on the problems and said he has advised the shooters regarding concentration and the need to add more calories in their diet.

"While the Russian coaches are doing their bit, the Army is also planning to hire a sports psychologist to train our shooters," said Lieutenant Colonel A N Tivary, the OIC of the Army's rifle team. "The impressive showing of the Army in this Nationals has also to do with the improvement in the standards of shooting ranges of the Army," Colonel Tivary said. "Such ranges built as per international standards have improved the quality of shooters," Tivary added.

Credit: Hindustan Times Friday, January 18, 2008