Suma Shirur

Suma Shirur (born 10 May 1974) is a former Indian shooter who competed in the 10 metre air rifle 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.[1] In 2003, she was awarded the Arjuna Award by the government of India.

Suma Shirur
Personal information
Birth nameSuma Betaraya Dixit
NationalityIndian
Born (1974-05-10) 10 May 1974
Chikkaballapur, Karnataka, India
ResidenceMumbai, India
Height160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Spouse(s)Siddharth Shirur
Other interestsLakshya Shooting academy, is a coach
Sport
CountryIndia
SportShooting
Event(s)10 metre air rifle
ClubIndian Railways
Now coachingAyonika Paul
Medal record
Women's shooting
Representing  India
Asian Games
2002 Busan 10 m air rifle team
2006 Doha 10 m air rifle team
Commonwealth Games
2002 Manchester 10 m air rifle pairs
2002 Manchester 10 m air rifle
2010 Delhi 10 m air rifle pairs

Early life

Suma Betaraya Dixit was born on 10 May 1974, in Chikkaballapur, in the Karnataka state of India. She completed her education in Mumbai, doing schooling in St. Xavier's school, 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.[2]

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, she became the junior national champion. She then represented her home state of Karnataka at the 1997 National Games in Bangalore, where she won the gold medal in the 10 metre air rifle event.[2]

Shirur made her name at the international stage winning medals at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan and the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where she won medals in the individual and team events of 10 metre air rifle. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Shirur stood eighth in the final, having scored a total of 497.2 points in the event. In the same year, at the Asian Athletics Championships in Kuala Lumpur, 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, she won the bronze medal.

Following a hiatus, Shirur returned to competitive shooting in 2010, winning a gold medal at the InterShoot Shooting Championship at The Hague.[3]

Personal life

Shirur is married to Siddharth Shirur, an architect. In 2006, she founded the Lakshya Shooting Club in New Panvel, 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".[4]

References
  1. "Suma Shirur equals world record in Kuala Lumpur". Outlook India. 13 February 2004. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  2. "For Suma Shirur, it's mother of all victories". The Times of India. 10 August 2002. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. "Another gold for Suma Shirur". The Hindu. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. "Lakshya Shooting Club". lakshyashooting.com. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
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