Vinay Kumar is an Indian shooter who has won an Olympic Silver Medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He won it in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Event. He has also won medals at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. He was also a part of the Indian Army from 2001-2007 and he was an Honorary Captain. He was awarded the AVSM by the Indian Army in 2013. This is the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
Personal Details
Name | Vijay Kumar |
Nationality | Indian |
Date of Birth | 19th August 1985 |
Sport | Shooting |
Military Branch | Indian Army |
Years of Service | 2001-2017 |
Parents | Father - Banku Ram Mother - Roshni Devi |
Rank in the Army | Honorary Captain |
Early Life and Military Career
Vijay Kumar was born in Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh. He was the son of a retired Army Subedar in Banku Ram and his mother Roshni Devi. Vijay Kumar had an interest in the guns that his father had but the interest in shouting started when Vijay Kumar joined the Indian army. Vijay Kumar joined the Army in 2001 as a Sepoy and he was promoted to Havaldar which means Sargeant in 2006. Then he was promoted to Naib Subedar on 20th April 2006. Vijay Kumar had an immense amount of talent and only proper coaching was needed. He retired from the Indian Army in 2017.
Shooting Career
It all started for Vijay Kumar at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He won 2 Gold Medals at the event. His first Gold Medal was in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Singles Event. He won his second Gold Medal in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Pairs Event. Vijay Kumar and his partner Pemba Tamang scored a combined 1134 points which was 18 more than the second position. He won a Bronze Medal in the 2006 Asian Games in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Event. He finished second at the 2007 Asian Championships. At the 2009 ISSF World Cup he won the Silver Medal and he just lost out on the Gold Medal by 0.1 points. He was promoted in the Army to Subedar in 10th February 2009.
In the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi he won 3 Gold Medals. His first Gold Medal was in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Pairs Event where he and Gurpreet Singh made 1162 points which was a Games Record at the time. He also won a Gold Medal in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Individual Event where he scored 787.5 which was Games Record. He scored 295 in stage 1 and 288 in stage 2. Then in the final he made 204.5. He won his 3rd Gold Medal in the 25M Centre Fire Pistol Pairs Event. He and Gurmeet Singh again won the Gold Medal with a score of 1159 points. In the 2014 Commonwealth Games Vijay Kumar was chosen as the flag bearer of the Indian team. He won a Silver Medal at the 2014 Asian Games in the 25M Centre Fire Pistol Team Event. He was in a trio with Pemba Tamang and Gurmeet Singh and they scored 1740 points which was 2 behind the Gold Medalists China.
Later on in his career, Vijay Kumar retired from the Army in 2017 after more than 15 years of service. In 2019, he was pursuing a degree In BBA which is Bachelor’s in Business Administration. He had been offered a position of DSP in the Himachal Pradesh Police force. DSP is the Deputy Superintendent of Police.
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 London Olympics was the defining moment for Vijay Kumar. He was in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Event. He was 4th In qualifying as he scored 585 points out of a possible 600. In the final Vijay Kumar performed his best and he added 30 points in the final and he won the Silver Medal for India. The winner of the Gold Medal was Leuris Pupo of Cuba who made a world record and an Olympic record at the time scoring 586 in qualifying and 34 in the Final.
Achievements and Awards for Vijay Kumar
He won a Silver Medal at the 2012 London Olympics in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Event.
He won 2 Silver Medals at the ISSF World Championship in 2009 and 2011 in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Event.
He won 2 Gold Medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He won these in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Singles Event and 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Pairs Event.
He won 3 Gold Medals in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He won these in 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Pairs, 25M Rapid Fire Pistol Singles and 25M Centre Fire Pistol Pairs Event.
He won a Silver Medal at Commonwealth Games 2010 in the 25M Centre Fire Pistol Singles Event.
He won a Silver Medal at the 2014 Asian Games in the 25M Centre Fire Pistol Team Event.
He won 2 Bronze Medals at the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games in the 25M Rapid Fire Pistol and 25M Centre Fire Pistol Events respectively.
He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2007.
He was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2012.
He was awarded the AVSM which is the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal by the Indian Army in 2013.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013.
He was promoted from Subedar to Subedar Major in the Indian Army on 12th August 2012 after winning the Olympics Silver Medal.
Also Read | India’s First Ever Female Individual Olympic Medalist – Karnam Malleswari
