‘SHOOTER DADI’ CHANDRO TOMAR DIES OF COVID-19
NEW DELHI : Octogenarian Chandro Tomar, who became the oldest woman sharp shooter in the world after taking up the sport in her 60s, died at a Meerut hospital where she was being treating for Covid since April 26. Tomar, who was nicknamed ‘Shooter Dadi’ for her exploits, was hospitalised after complaining of difficulty in breathing. Tests revealed she had contracted the highly contagious virus. Hailing from a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district, Tomar went on to win many national competitions for veterans, ultimately inspiring the award-winning Bollywood movie ‘Saand ki Aankh’.
Chandro Tomar, popular as ‘Shooter Dadi’, succumbed to complications arising from a Covid-19 infection, in a hospital, here, on Friday afternoon. She was 89.
Her niece, Seema Tomar, who is also an international shooter, confirmed the death of her aunt. She was admitted on April 26 to a private hospital in Meerut for other health problems but later, she was diagnosed as Covid-19positive.
Chandro Tomar shot into limelight after she picked up a gun at the shooting range in her Johri village of district Bagpat as a senior citizen and won many medals in competitions. She then became popular as ‘Shooter Dadi’ and was quite active on Twitter and used to tweet in support of ongoing farmers’ movement.
Bollywood paid tribute by making a film ‘Saand ki Aankh’ on Chandro and her sister-in-law (husband’s younger brother’s wife) as both were famous and popular for their passion of shooting.
Believed to be the oldest woman competitive shooter, Chandro was also an inspiration to rural girls in the region who also picked up shooting as a sport after seeing grandmothers in typical rural attire shooting at a range and winning laurels for the country.