Chandro Tomar may look like your typical grandmother: She's 78, has six children and dotes on her 15 grandkids.
But don't let the silver hair and kindly smile fool you. According to the Daily Mail, Tomar is believed to be the world's oldest female professional sharpshooter.
The grandmother from India's Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh has won over 25 national championships -- even more impressive when you consider that it was only 10 years ago that Tomar picked up a gun for the first time.
It all began when Tomar had accompanied her granddaughter -- who was interested in trying sharpshooting but was too shy to go alone -- to a shooting club, Asian News International reports.
"As I was waiting around, I decided to have a go," said Tomar. "The coach spotted me and was amazed at my aim."
She soon became a regular.
â??She was so good some of the men stopped turning up altogether to avoid being humiliated by her, an old woman," the club's coach, Farooq Pathan told the Daily News and Analysis. "She has the ultimate skill, a steady hand and a sharp eye.â?
This talent for shooting seems to run in the family. According to the BBC, Tomar's daughter, Seema, was the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Rifle and Pistol World Cup in 2010 and one of her granddaughters, Neetu Solanki, is an international shooter who has represented India in countries like Hungary and Germany.
Both women say that Tomar has inspired them to excel.
"She is amazing," Seema said of her mother. "If she can do it then so can we. She showed us that anything is possible. She has helped so many of us improve our lives."
Neetu, her granddaughter, added that in a male-dominated society like India's, her grandmother is giving hope to younger generations.
"Young girls say, 'If granny can do it, why can't we?' I say to them: Work hard and keep your chin up and you will go places," she told BBC, in a 2011 interview.
Weird News on HuffingtonPost.com
No comments:
Post a Comment