India's Ace Pistol Shooter Jitu Rai Promoted To Rank Of Subedar Major In Indian Army's 11 Gorkha Rifles

Ace pistol shooter Jitu Rai has etched a mark of his own in the international shooting arena courtesy his medal winning exploits at major international events. After reaching the very zenith of his chosen sport , the Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award winning shooter also achieved a major milestone of sorts in his Army career as he was promoted to the rank of a Subedar Major. Rai who belongs to the 11 Gorkha Rifles (11 GR) took over as Subedar Major of the fifth battalion (5/11 GR) of the regiment.

While the unparalleled dedication and selfless service of the 'Men in Uniform' donning the Olive Greens in guarding the frontiers of our nation is noteworthy, the Indian Army has also produced quite a few world class athletes across sporting disciplines, who have gone onto brought laurels to the nation and helped in making the country become a notable power in the international sporting landscape.

Born in the Sankhuwasabha district of Nepal, it has been quite the success story for the paddy growing farmer from Eastern Nepal who moved to India after his father's death and joined the Indian Army in 2006.

Rai had to face some major setbacks early in his career after he was sent back twice from the Army Marksman Unit (AMU) in Mhow for poor performances.However the resolute and spirited shooter from the 11 Gorkha Rifles, did not let failures come his way and went onto establish his credentials as one of India's leading pistol shooter.

Jitu Rai has been India's undisputed 'Pistol King' in the Indian shooting circuit over the last five odd years. Rai shot into the limelight in 2014 when he bagged a silver medal in the 10 m Air Pistol event at at the ISSF World World Cup in Munich. He continued his medal winning form by striking gold in the 10 m Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup at Maribor, besides winning a silver in the 50 m pistol event.

In 2014, Rai was in fine shooting form at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he clinched a gold in 50m pistol event. He added to his swelling medal tally by clinching a silver in the 50m Pistol category at ISSF World Shooting Championships in Granada.

Rai's biggest moment under the sun came when he won India a gold in the 50 metre Air pistol event at the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea. He later shot bronze in the 10m pistol team category with Samaresh Jung and Prakash Nanjappa. In 2016, Rai won a silver medal at the ISSF World Cup held in Baku, Azerbaijan in the 10m Air Pistol event.

Rai, a major medal hope for India in the 2016 Rio Olympics, had a disappointing outing at the Games as he faltered in the final rounds of the 10 m Air Pistol event and could not make it to the final round in his pet 50 m pistol event.

After the massive Olympic disappointment, Jitu shot back with a bang to prove his pedigree as he bagged two bronze medals at the 2017 Commonwealth Championships. Rai teamed up with Heena Sidhu at the 2017 ISSF World Cup in New Delhi where the team won the 10m air pistol mixed event.

He went into the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast as one of India's brightest medal prospects and did not disappoint one bit as he hit bulls eye to win gold medal in the 10 m Air pistol event.

Shooting has been one sport where the Indian Army has contributed immensely in recent years to put India on the world map. Over the last two decades, Colonel Rajyawardhan Rathore (Retd) , Subedar Major Vijay Kumar (Retd) and Subedar Major Jitu Rai have led a pack of world class Army marksmen, all of whom went onto win a bagful of medals for India at multi-nation events and competitions, namely the Olympics, the Asian Games and the premier ISSF World Shooting events.

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