HARSOUR, HIMACHAL PRADESH
HE WAS STILL SHY of 16 when he gave in to wanderlust, to explore the world beyond Harsour, a small village in Himachal Pradesh’s hilly Hamirpur district. Unlike his peers, who headed for lucrative jobs in the metros, Vijay Kumar followed his father, Subedar Bankuram Sharma, into the Indian Army. Recalling early signs of his son’s prowess, Bankuram says: “He was precise even in the way he cut and stacked grass for our buffaloes, when he was barely seven.”
It was this single- mindedness that drew him to competitive shooting, shortly after he enlisted as a sepoy in his father’s regiment, 16 Dogra, in 2003. Witnessing the young soldier’s ability to repeatedly hit bull’s eye at arms training, instructors pushed him to the Army marksmanship trials. He never looked back, having won 110 national and 45 international medals in eight years, crowning it with Olympic glory.
“Seena chaura kar diya hai mere bete ne ( My son made my chest swell with pride),” says Bankuram. The village that helped raise the champion is agog. “Who could’ve imagined that a Harsour youngster would make the world stand up?” says the proud father. “It’s all because of Jwala Mata’s blessings,” insists Roshini Devi, his devout mother.
Inspired Harsour youngsters are already honing their marksmanship skills with catapults. With Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal promising a “world- class sports shooting facility” at Hamirpur, Vijay Kumar’s success could usher the dawn of a revolution in marksmanship in this quiet corner of India.