Suma Shirur
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Suma Shirur (born 10 May 1974) is an Indian former
sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...
who competed in the
10 metre air rifle 10 meter air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot at a bullseye target over a distance of using a calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of . It is one of the ISSF sports governed in shooting spor ...
event. She is a joint world record holder in the event, having scored the maximum of 400 points in the qualification round, which she achieved at the 2004 Asian Shooting Championships in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. In 2003, she was awarded the
Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...
by the
government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
. She is currently the High Performance Coach of the Indian Jr. Rifle Shooting Team. She is also the coach of 2020 Paralympics women's SH1 10m rifle gold and women's SH1 50m 3-position rifle bronze medalist
Avani Lekhara Avani Lekhara (born 8 November 2001) is an Indian Paralympic rifle shooter and disability rights advocate. She is the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympic Games and the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals in a single ...
On 30 November 2022, she was conferred the
Dronacharya Award The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a cha ...
by the 15th President of India,
Droupadi Murmu Droupadi Murmu (born Durgi Biranchi Tudu; 20 June 1958) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the president of India since 2022. She won the 2022 Indian presidential election, 2022 presidential election as the Bharatiya Janata Party ...
.


Early life

Suma Betaraya Dixit was born on 10 May 1974, in
Chikkaballapur Chikkaballapur or Chikkaballāpura is the district headquarters of the newly created Chikkaballapur district in the state of Karnataka, India, which was carved out from Kolar district. It is located within 3 km of Muddenahalli (the birthpla ...
, in the
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
state of India. She completed her education in
Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...
, doing schooling in St. Xavier's High School, Nerul, Junior College in Fr. Agnel's Vashi and college education in South Indian Education Society graduating in Chemistry. During her graduation course, she was a part of the National Cadet Corps. This was when she discovered her interest in shooting and then on took to the sport under the watchful eyes of Dronacharya awardee Sanjay Chakraverty and Shri. B. P. Bam at the Maharashtra Rifle Association.


Career

In 1993, as a part of the Maharashtra Rifle Association, Shirur won three silver medals at the Maharashtra State Championship. Following her win at the Junior National Championships in 1994 in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, she became the junior national champion. She then represented her home state of Karnataka at the 1997 National Games in
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
, where she won the gold medal in the 10 metre air rifle event. Shirur made her name at the international stage winning medals at the
2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games, officially known as the XIV Asian Games and also known as Busan 2002 (), were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002. Due to schedule impediments the football tour ...
in
Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...
and the
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, where she won medals in the individual and team events of 10 metre air rifle. At the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, Shirur stood eighth in the final, having scored a total of 497.2 points in
the event ''The Event'' (stylized as THE EVƎNT) is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, Action fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. It was created by Nick Wauters and aired on NBC from September 20, 2010, to ...
. In the same year, at the Asian Athletics Championships in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, she created a joint world record in the qualification round, when she scored the maximum of 400 points. She went on to win the gold medal in the event, scoring a total of 502.3 points in the final. At the 2005 Championships in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, she won the bronze medal. Following a hiatus, Shirur returned to competitive shooting in 2010, winning a gold medal at the
InterShoot InterShoot is an annual international airgun shooting competition hosted in Den Haag in the Netherlands. It is run to ISSF standards but on a less formal basis than major sanctioned events, providing an opportunity for junior and development a ...
competition in the Netherlands.


Personal life

Shirur is married to Siddharth Shirur, an architect. In 2006, she founded the Lakshya Shooting Club in
New Panvel New Panvel is a residential, commercial and educational node of Navi Mumbai, Raigad District, Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is b ...
, an organization to support budding shooters, with the mission of "Live for the glory of the game. Strive for perfection. Create and instill confidence, with sportsmanship spirit".


International participation & medals won

*Asian Games 2002, Busan, South Korea , Silver Medal - 10 m air rifle team *Commonwealth Games 2002, Manchester , 2 Medals - Gold in 10 m air rifle pairs and Silver in 10 m air rifle individual event *Asian Shooting Championship 2004, Kuala lumper, Malaysia , Gold Medal -Individual *Asian Games 2006, Doha, Qatar , Bronze Medal - 10 m air rifle team *Asian Air Gun Championship 2008, Nanjing, China , Gold Medal *Hungarian Open 2008, Gyor, Hungary , Gold Medal *Intershoot 2008, Den HAAG, Netherlands , Gold Medal *Commonwealth Games 2010, New Delhi, India , Bronze Medal - 10 m air rifle pairs *Intershoot 2014, Den HAAG, Netherlands , Bronze Medal *Intershoot 2015, Den HAAG, Netherlands , Silver Medal *Asian Air Gun Championship 2016, Tehran , Silver Medal


Awards and recognition

*Shiv Chatrapati Krida Puraskar in 1996 by Govt of Maharashtra *Arjuna Award in 2003 by Govt of India *Sportswoman of the Year in 2005 by Hero Honda Sports Awards *Dronacharya Award in 2022 by Govt of India *2024
Indian Sports Honours Indian Sports Honours are annual sports awards given by the RPSG Group and the Sevva Foundation to sports personalities from India that have achieved excellence. The awards were founded in 2017. Background The inaugural award ceremony was held o ...
: Coach of the Year Female


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirur, Suma 1974 births Living people Indian female sport shooters ISSF rifle shooters Olympic shooters for India Shooters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games gold medallists in shooting Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists in shooting Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for India Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in shooting Shooters at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Asian Games medalists in shooting Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games shooters for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Shooters at the 2002 Asian Games Shooters at the 2006 Asian Games Shooters at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people People from Chikkaballapur Sportswomen from Karnataka Recipients of the Arjuna Award Recipients of the Dronacharya Award Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games