Chandro Tomar


Chandro Tomar, nicknamed Shooter Dadi, is an octogenarian sharp shooter from the village of Johri in the Bagpat district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Since learning to shoot in 1999 when she was already in her 60s, she has attained national fame as an accomplished shooter, having won more than 30 national championships. She is referred to as the oldest sharpshooter in the world.

Biography

Tomar is illiterate but a learner when it comes to sharpshooting and basic English. Initially her husband neither opposed nor supported her shooting sports, who now proudly encourages her along with the whole family.
Tomar has five children and twelve grandchildren. She began learning to shoot by chance, when her granddaughter Shefali wanted to learn how to shoot at Johri Rifle Club. Her granddaughter was shy to go alone to an all-boys shooting club. and wanted her grandmother to accompany her. At the range, Tomar took a pistol when her granddaughter could not load it and she started shooting at a target. Her first shot resulted in bull's eye hit. 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."
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.
Shooting runs in the family as noted from the fact that her niece Seema Tomar, 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, Shefali Tomar, achieved international shooter status and has taken part in international competitions in Hungary and Germany; both of them credit Tomar for the positive encouragement provided and praised her sister Prakashi Tomar for advising them.
Since 1999, Tomar has competed in and won 25 national championships throughout India. She won a gold medal at the Veteran Shooting Championship conducted in Chennai. Her success has encouraged the local people to take up shooting as a useful sporting profession, including her granddaughters.

In popular culture