Apurvi Chandela: 5 things you didn't know about India's rifle shooter

Apurvi Chandela is an Indian shooter who competes in the women's 10m air rifle event. Having finished in the 4th position at the ISSF World Cup in Beijing in 2019, Chandela qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Chandela has represented and won medals for India at various shooting competitions and will be looking to give her best at this year's Olympics as well.

In this article, we take a look at a few lesser known things about Apurvi Chandela.

Apurvi Chandela's shooting range at home

Apurvi Chandela was born in the Indian city of Jaipur in Rajasthan. She picked up sports shooting after getting inspired by Abhinav Bindra in 2008. However, the practice range was far from home and required 45 minutes of travel. To remove this obstacle, Chandela's uncle built her a 10m rifle shooting range in her backyard.

Apurvi Chandela won a scholarship from the IOC

In 2015, Apurvi Chandela won a scholarship worth $12,800 from the International Olympic Council to help her prepare for the Rio Olympics 2016. According to a report by DNA, Chandela, along with 4 other shooters, was given an $800 allowance for a period of 16 months.

Apurvi Chandela is an Arjuna awardee

Apurvi Chandela was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2016, by the Government of India for her achievements in sports shooting. She was also nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2020.

Saddened to hear about the passing of our Former President Shri Pranab Mukherjee. A huge loss for the nation, my deepest condolences with his loved ones. Had the honour of receiving Arjuna Award from him and will cherish meeting him always. May his soul rest in peace 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/QLybuWp0y4

— Apurvi Chandela (@apurvichandela) August 31, 2020

Apurvi Chandela holds the world record in 10m air rifle

Apurvi Chandela scored a world record 252.9 points at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi in 2019. She won the gold medal at the event. Two years later, her record still stands. Apurvi Chandela also smashed the Commonwealth Games record in 2014 where she shot a total of 206.7.

What a performance by Apurvi Chandela at the @ISSF_Shooting World Cup 2019 and a new #WorldRecord with a score of 252.9. Congratulations @apurvichandela you are a star ! @OfficialNRAI pic.twitter.com/TxKFwXXJWS

— Yashodhara Raje Scindia (@yashodhararaje) February 23, 2019

Apurvi Chandela is the current World No.1

Apurvi Chandela's performances during 2018 and 2019 have been stellar. She won gold medals at the ISSF World Cups in New Delhi and Munich. This helped her clinch the number one spot in the world rankings in the 10m air rifle category.

Apurvi will look to continue her good run of form when she takes the shooting range on the 24th of July at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.