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{{short description|Indian sport shooter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chandro Tomar
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1932|01|10}}
| birth_place = [[Shamli]], Uttar Pradesh, India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2021|04|30|1932|01|10}}
| death_place = [[Meerut]], Uttar Pradesh, India
| citizenship =
| occupation = [[Sharpshooter]]
| othername = Shooter Dadi (Shooter Grandmother)
| module = {{Infobox sportsperson
| years_active =
| residence =
| country = {{IND}}
| updated = 02 May 2021
}}
}}

'''Chandro Tomar'''<ref name="Ministry of women & child development">{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ministryWCD/videos/680338988777646/|title=Chandro Tomar, World's oldest professional sharpshooter|date=15 July 2015|work=[[Ministry of Women and Child Development]]}}</ref> (10 January 1932 – 30 April 2021)<ref name=Revolver/><ref name=better1>[https://www.thebetterindia.com/98987/shooter-dadi-chanro-tomar-shooting-uttar-pradesh/ Shooter Dadi: The Story of an Octogenarian Who’s Breaking All Barriers With Her Awesome Aim], The Better India.</ref> was an [[Indian people|Indian]] octogenarian [[sharpshooter]] from the village of [[Johri]] in the [[Bagpat district]] in the [[States and union territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref name=Revolver>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_UzYECYG_A|title= Chandro Tomar-oldest women sharpshooter|date=23 Oct 2016|work=[[History TV18]]}}</ref>

Since learning to shoot in 1999 when she was already in her 60s, she had attained national fame as an accomplished shooter, having won more than [[Shooting sports in India|30 national championships]]. She was referred to as the oldest (woman) sharpshooter in the world<ref name=National>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-indian-grandma-worlds-oldest-women-sharpshooter-at-78-1666634|title=Indian grandma 'world's oldest women sharpshooter' at 78|date=23 March 2012|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]}}</ref><ref name="Ministry of external affairs">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mea.gov.in/photo-features.htm?961%2FModern+Indian+Women+The+Pioneers#prettyPhoto|title=Modern Indian Women: The Pioneers|work=Dadi Chandro, the sharpshooting grandmother|publisher= [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]]}}</ref><ref name=Old>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/25/78-year-old-grandmother-m_n_1376320.html?ir=India|title=Chandro Tomar, 78-Year-Old Indian Grandmother, May Be World's Oldest Sharpshooter|date=25 March 2012|newspaper=[[The Huffington Post]]}}</ref> and a "feminist icon."<ref name="Bhagat 2021">{{cite news |last1=Bhagat |first1=Shalini Venugopal |title=An 89-Year-Old Sharpshooter Takes Aim at India’s Patriarchy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/world/asia/india-chandro-tomar-sharpshooter.html |access-date=20 March 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=March 19, 2021}}</ref>

==Biography==
Tomar never attended school and married at age 15.<ref name="Bhagat 2021"/> She was over age 65 when she began her sharpshooting career, and was derided and laughed at when she first began attending professional competitions.<ref name="Bhagat 2021"/> Tomar recalled her husband and his brothers at first being angry and opposed to her participation in competitions, but she decided to continue.<ref name="Bhagat 2021"/> Her daughter and granddaughter joined the shooting team, and Tomar encouraged other families to allow their daughters to join.<ref name="Bhagat 2021"/>

Tomar has five children and twelve grandchildren.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://theageofhappiness.com/posts/chandro-tomar-whoshoots-and-doesnt-miss/a28aa3gdhae |title=Chandro Tomar, Who Shoots and Doesnʼt Miss |last=Hrylova |first=Tatyana |date= |website=The Age of Happiness |publisher= |access-date=17 November 2016 |quote=}}</ref> 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."<ref name=Old/>

In 2021, Tomar told ''[[The New York Times]]'' that her strength and agility is from "All the household chores I used to do from a young age, like grinding the wheat by hand, milking the cows, cutting the grass, It’s important to stay active. Your body might grow old, but keep your mind sharp."<ref name="Bhagat 2021"/>

Her niece [[Seema Tomar]], also a sharpshooter, was the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Rifle and Pistol World Cup in 2010. Her granddaughter, 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.<ref name=Old/>

From 1999 on Tomar competed in and won over 25 state and larger championships throughout India.<ref name="Bhagat 2021"/> She won a gold medal at the Veteran Shooting Championship conducted in [[Chennai]].<ref name="Granny">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13985035|title=India's sharp-shooter granny fighting male domination|last=Haleem|first=Suhail|date=11 July 2011|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> Her success has encouraged the local people to take up shooting as a useful sporting profession, including her granddaughters.<ref name="Tomar">{{Cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/shooting/At-78-Chandro-Tomar-guns-for-glory/articleshow/14392142.cms|title=At 78, Chandro Tomar guns for glory|date=25 June 2012|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> Tomar died from [[COVID-19]] on 30 April 2021 at the age of 89.<ref>[https://www.thebridge.in/amp/shooting/shooter-dadi-chandro-tomar-dies-covid-21236 'Shooter dadi' Chandro Tomar dies after contracting COVID-19]</ref>

== In popular culture ==
* ''[[Saand Ki Aankh]]'' (2019) — a biopic movie starring [[Taapsee Pannu]] and [[Bhumi Pednekar]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/taapsee-pannu-bhumi-pednekar-to-play-worlds-oldest-sharpshooters-chandro-tomar-prakashi-tomar-2030523.html|title=Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar to Play World's Oldest Sharpshooters Chandro Tomar & Prakashi Tomar|website=News18|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref><ref name="Bhagat 2021"/>

==See also==
* [[Prakashi Tomar]], the second-oldest female shooter from the same village

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomar, Chandro}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian female sport shooters]]
[[Category:People from Bagpat district]]
[[Category:Sportswomen from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India]]

Chandro Tomar - Revision history

imported>Nikkimaria at 00:17, 18 August 2021