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Chandro Tomar

Chandro Tomar was an Indian sport shooter from Uttar Pradesh, widely known by the nickname Shooter Dadi. She gained recognition in India and abroad for taking up competitive pistol shooting late in life and for encouraging women and girls in rural North India to pursue the sport.

Key facts

Name Chandro Tomar
Known as Shooter Dadi
Nationality Indian
Home village Johri, Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh
Sport Pistol shooting
Associated club Johri Rifle Club
Associated person Prakashi Tomar (sister-in-law and fellow shooter)

Background

Chandro Tomar belonged to a farming family in Johri, a village in Baghpat district of western Uttar Pradesh. She lived much of her life as a homemaker in a traditional rural household before discovering shooting in her sixties, when she accompanied a younger family member to the local Johri Rifle Club.

Shooting career

At the Johri Rifle Club, Tomar began training in 10-metre air pistol shooting under coach Farooq Pathan. Despite starting at an advanced age, she demonstrated a steady aim and competed in veteran and open category shooting events at the district and state level in Uttar Pradesh, and at national-level competitions in India.

Together with her sister-in-law Prakashi Tomar, she became one of the earliest female shooters from her village to participate in formal competitions, paving the way for younger women from the surrounding region to take up the sport.

Significance

Tomar's story drew wide attention in Indian and international media as an example of women breaking social barriers in rural India. She mentored several young female shooters from Johri and nearby villages, a number of whom went on to compete at the national level. Her life inspired the 2019 Hindi-language biographical film Saand Ki Aankh, directed by Tushar Hiranandani, in which the characters based on Chandro and Prakashi Tomar were portrayed by Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu.

Later life

Chandro Tomar continued to be associated with the Johri Rifle Club and with public engagements promoting shooting and women's empowerment. She died in 2021 after contracting COVID-19 during the second wave of the pandemic in India.

References