Honorary CaptainVijay Kumar Sharma,AVSM,SM (born 19 August 1985) is an Indiansport shooter. He won the silver medal in the individual25 metre rapid fire pistol event at the2012 Summer Olympics.[2] Kumar hails from Barsar village ofHamirpur district ofHimachal Pradesh and is a retired Subedar Major (Warrant Officer Class I) in the Dogra Regiment (16th Battalion)Indian Army, who was later promoted toHonorary Captain Rank.[3] Vijay Kumar is supported by theOlympic Gold Quest initiative. He is the only Indian to have won an Olympic medal at 25m rapid Fire Pistol . He has been posted atIndian Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU)Mhow since 2003 until retirement, where he was coached by the Russian Pavel Smirnov.[4]
Born in Himachal Pradesh, Kumar is the son of Banku Ram, a retired Indian Armysubedar, and his wife Roshni Devi. According to his father, while Kumar was "always intrigued" by his father's guns, he only developed his interest in shooting after enlisting in the Indian Army.[5] Kumar joined the Indian Army in 2001 as asepoy (private), and was inducted into the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) at Mhow in 2003. His prowess ensured him a direct promotion fromsepoy tohavildar (sergeant) by 2006.[6] He was promoted tonaib subedar on 20 April 2006.[7]
At the2006 Commonwealth Games, he won two gold medals: the individual25 meter rapid fire pistol competition and the pairs competition in the same event together withPemba Tamang. The same year, he won a bronze medal in theAsian Games.[8] In 2006, he was awarded theArjuna award by theIndian government.[9]
In 2007, he finished second at the Asian Championship in25 metre center-fire pistol. He also won a silver medal at the2009 ISSF World CupBeijing in rapid fire pistol, where he was defeated by 0.1 points. He was promoted tosubedar on 10 February 2009 (seniority from 1 July 2008)[10]
In the2010 Commonwealth Games, he won three gold medals and one silver. In25 metre rapid fire pistol pairs, Gurpreet Singh and Vijay Kumar won the gold medal scoring 1162 points, setting a new Commonwealth games record. He won the25 meter rapid fire pistol singles event and also teamed up with Harpreet Singh to win the25-metre center fire pistol pairs event. In the25-metre centre fire pistol singles, he finished second winning a silver, losing out to fellow IndianHarpreet Singh.
Kumar won the silver medal in the25 m rapid fire pistol event at2012 London Olympics.[11] He finished with an average score of 9.767 and had a score of 293 with 7 inner 10s in the first stage. Vijay's silver was the second medal forIndia at London 2012.[12] Earlier Kumar failed to qualify for the men's10 m air pistol finals after finishing 31st on 28 July 2012.[13]
Kumar was chosen to be the Indian flagbearer at the2014 Commonwealth Games.[9] The Indian trio of Vijay Kumar,Pemba Tamang andGurpreet Singh won the silver medal in the 25m center fire event at the2014 Asian Games, held atIncheon,South Korea. The team scored a total of 1740, two behind gold medalistsChina.[14]
Vijay Kumar retired from the army in 2017, after 15 years of service. As of 2019, he is finishing a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Manav Rachna University in Faridabad, and has been offered a direct-entry position as deputy superintendent of police (DSP) by the Himachal Pradesh state government.[15]
| 2002 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | Not held | — | Not held |  Silver | Not held | ||||||
| World Championships | Not held | 34th 569 | Not held | 11th 578 | Not held | 36th 569 | Not held | ||||
| Asian Games/AC | 4th 577+198.3 | 14th 566 | Not held | 7th 577 | Not held | ||||||
| Commonwealth Games | Not held |  Gold581+197.2 | Not held | Gold 583+204.5 | Not held | 8th 274 | Not held | ||||
| World Cup 1 | — | 19th 575 | 35th 561 | — | 10th 577 | ||||||
| World Cup 2 | — | 12th 576 | 34th 567 | 8th 580 | Silver 581+199.4 | ||||||
| World Cup 3 | — | 37th 568 | 14th 572 | 15th 577 | 16th 576 | ||||||
| World Cup 4 | 38th 560 | 25th 573 | 40th 567 | 33rd 562 | 21st 572 | ||||||
| World Cup Final | NQ | NQ | NQ | NQ | 4th 579 | ||||||
| 2006 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 27th 577 | Not held |
| Asian Games/AC | 9th 580 | Silver 582 |
| Commonwealth Games | — | Not held |
| 2007 | |
|---|---|
| World Championships | Not held |
| Asian Games/AC | 12th 562 |
| Commonwealth Games | Not held |
| Olympics | Not held |
| 2005 | |
|---|---|
| Olympic Games | Not held |
| World Championships | 2nd |
| Asian Games/AC | — |
| Commonwealth Games | Not held |
| World Cup 1 | — |
| World Cup 2 | — |
| World Cup 3 | 89th 560 |
| World Cup 4 | 73rd 564 |
| World Cup Final | NQ |
For winning the silver medal at 2012 London Olympics:
 |  | ||
 |  |  |  |
| Padma Shri | Ati Vishist Seva Medal | ||
| Sena Medal | Meritorious Service Medal | 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal |
Gold medalists |
|
|---|---|
Silver medalists | |
Bronze medalists | |
