Shooter Chandro Tomar, nicknamed ‘Shooter Dadi’, passed away at the age of 89 due to Covid-19 on Friday. She had been admitted to a hospital in Meerut earlier this week after she had complained of difficulty breathing.
Chandro Tomar, who belonged to UP’s Baghpat, started competitive shooting at the age of 65. She won over 30 national championships and numerous other competitions in her career.
Shooter Dadi won many awards in senior citizen category including Stri Shakti Sanman presented by the President of India himself.
She was believed to have been the oldest woman sharp shooter in the world. She took part in several competitions along with her sister Prakashi Tomar, also one of the oldest female sharp shooters in the world. The Bollywood movie “Saand ki Aankh” in 2019 was inspired by their lives in which Tapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar played the lead roles.
Tomar began this passion when a shooting range had come up in their village. Her daughter asked to get her an admission but didn’t want to travel alone. So, they accompanied her to the range for a few days. Shooter Dadi also tried her hands at it and liked it and that’s how it all started.
The unfortunate news comes on a day the country lost senior journalist Rohit Sardana and Bihar chief secretary Arun Kumar Singh due to Covid complications.
India has been seeing over 3 lakh new cases every day for over a week now.
