Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar

• Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar is an Indian 10 m and 50 m air rifle shooter.

• While Aishwary was in school, he developed an interest in shooting after watching the shooting matches of his cousin brother Navdeep Singh Rathore who is an international level shooter. In an interview, while talking about the same Aishwary said,
  

  I joined shooting inspired by my cousin Navdeep Singh Rathod. They are also shooters. He got admission to Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy. I have been practising there since 2015. First year I got selected for Nationals, but I got disqualified. After that, I had to wait for a year for the Nationals. Won the National Championship in 2016. 2017-18 hasn’t been much better for me. In 2019, there was a selection in the junior team. Created a record in the World Cup and won gold medals. Then reached the top-5 of senior.”

• His father was also interested in shooting, but he could not opt for it as a career option. During an interview, his father talked about it. He said,
  

  Being a landlord (of 50 acres of land), I own more than three guns and we would often go hunting when Aishwary was young. There was nobody to tell me to take up shooting competitively when I was young. But now that I’ve seen Aishwary grow up to become the junior world champion, it feels that I have become the world champion too.”

• In 2015, Aishwary started his professional training in shooting under Vaibhav Sharma at the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy in Bhopal. Due to some technical reasons, he was suspended in 2015 to participate in shooting at the national level for a year. In an interview, while talking about it, he said,
  

  A butt plate was 1 cm below the permitted level and due to this technical reason, I was suspended. I had to start from scratch, play state level, then pre-national, and then nationals. It was the toughest period. When I was selected in the trials for the MP Shooting Academy, I knew that I had to stay away from my family. It was tough initially but I made it a point to visit the village at festivals. And I also make it a point to go to the Navgrah fair.”

• During an interview, his coach Vaibhav Sharma shared the journey of Aishwary as a shooter. He said,
  

  He came to the academy in 2015. He joined a summer camp in Bhopal. He was inspired by his brother who himself is a shooter. He began his basics in 2015. He started with 10m and then we saw he is picking up well and performing, he started taking part in 50m events as well. If you were watching him live, when he clinched the medal, there was zero reaction from him, no expressions on his face as this is his nature. This is the reason why he is doing well. He is calm, happy but untouched by success. He relishes this sport.”

• Aishwary then performed in various shooting competitions nationally and internationally in the 10 m air rifle event and 50 m air rifle event.

• In 2021, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) ranked him World No. 2 in air rifle shooting. ^[5]News 18

• During an interview, while talking about Aishwary, his coach Suma Shirur said,
  

  Aishwary’s biggest strength has been his focus and it helped me to coach him when I joined the academy. We would work a lot on his basics and he would always show his eagerness to compete in all three events, which is good for a young shooter. 3P requires a lot of stamina since it goes for more than three hours. But Aishwary would never hesitate to train extra for the event.”

• In 2021, he represented India at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 which was postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In an interview, he shared how he prepared for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. He said,
  

  I practice in Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy. During the lockdown, I went home and focused on my fitness with the help of Manav Rachna Academy. I didn’t even have a bullet and a rifle. State Sports Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia got me the rifle because of the special permission. I did dry training. As soon as the situation returned to normal after the lockdown and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) got permission to practice, I came to the academy and started practicing. There should be no problem in preparing for the World Cup and Olympics, so I also ordered new equipment.”

• In his leisure time, he loves to do cycling and play cricket.

  

• In one of his interviews, Aishwary shared that people often made fun of his name. They would often call him Aishwarya Rai, and one day someone addressed him as Akshay Kumar.