Olympics silver medallist and multi-time Commonwealth Games champions, Vijay Kumar celebrates his 35th birthday on August 19, 2020 (Wednesday). Kumar won a silver medal in 25m rapid fire pistol event at the 2012 London Olympics. He also is a five-time gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games and has won three medals at the Asian Games. As he celebrates his 35th birthday, take a look at some interesting facts about the Olympics medal-winning shooter. Qatar Submits Request to Host 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games.

Vijay Kumar hails from Basar village of Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh. He was born to a retired army subedar and was always intrigued by his father’s guns as a child. Kumar also enlisted in the army in 2001 and it was there his love for shooting developed. Vijay Kumar came into the limelight with a silver medal win at the 2009 ISSF World Cup in Beijing. And has gone into win several laurels for the country since then. Take a look at some lesser-known facts about the shooter. Rohit Sharma, Vinesh Phogat, Manika Batra And Mariyappan Thangavelu Recommended For Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2020.

  • Vijay Kumar was born to retired army subedar Banku Ram and Roshni Devi in the Basar village of Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh in 1985

  • Kumar won a silver medal in 25m rapid fire pistol event at the 2012 London Olympics

  • He also won three gold medals and a silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi

  • Vijay Kumar paired with Gurpreet Singh to win the gold medal in 25m rapid fire pistol pairs event and create a new Commonwealth Games record

  • Kumar was India’s flag-bearer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

  • He also won two gold medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games

  • Vijay Kumar is one of India’s few shooters to win medals in three different Asian Games events

He was given the Arjuna award in 2007 for his contribution towards shooting. He was bestowed with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2012 and also honoured with the Padma Shri in 2013. Kumar retired from the army in 2017 after 15 years in service.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2020 08:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).