Gagan Narang
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Gagan Narang (born 6 May 1983) is an Indian shooter, in Air rifle shooting, supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. He was the first Indian to qualify for the London Olympics. He won the Bronze Medal in the Men's 10 m Air Rifle Event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with a final score of 701.1 on 30 July 2012.[2][3][4][5]
Early life and background
Gagan was born to Bhimsen Narang and his wife Amarjit in Chennai on the 6 May 1983.[6][7] His father is a retired chief manager of the Air India.[8] Gagan's family hail from the Simla Gujran village of Haryana's Panipat district.[9] But his father's job assignments made them to shift from Panipat to Hyderabad, where he was brought up.[10] He did his schooling from the Gitanjali Senior School and attained his Bachelor of Computer Application degree from the Hyderabad's Osmania University.[11][12] He took to shooting when his father presented him an air pistol in 1997. And perfected his shooting skills at the backyard of his home in Begumpet.[12] According to his father, Gagan showed early sparks of his shooting ability when, at the age of two, he shot a balloon with a toy pistol.[8]
Career
Narang is a gold medalist in the Afro Asian games, 2003 in Hyderabad on 26 October 2003 in Men's 10m air rifle competition.[13] He had won an air rifle gold medal at the World Cup 2006 and followed that event in April 2010.
In a pre-Olympic event in Hannover, Germany, Gagan shot a panis air rifle score higher than the world record, 704.3 as opposed to 703.1 set by Thomas Farnik of Austria in the World Cup 2006. Gagan Narang won 4 gold medal at 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Narang qualified for the 2008 ISSF World Cup Final after he won a gold in the World Cup in China earlier in 2008. Gagan shot a perfect 600 in the qualification round. He scored 103.5 in the final round making total score of 703.5 to gain the universe record.[14][15] On 4 November 2008 he broke Austria's Thomas Farnik's record, set in the 2006 World Cup final in Granada, Spain. Gagan said his win was special because Barack Obama, who won the United States' Presidential election on same day, was a source of inspiration.[16]
Narang added 4 gold medals to the Indian tally at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. In the Men's 10 m air rifle singles event, he shot a perfect 600 which was a new record.[17] Gagan also clinched a silver medal in his pet event at the Asian Games 2010. He also combined with Abhinav Bindra and Sanjeev Rajput to provide the country with another silver, in the team event behind champions China. Both of his silvers were won on the opening day of Asian Games.[18]
Narang won the bronze medal[2] in the 10m air rifle event at the 2012 London Olympics with a total score of 701.1 becoming India's first medal winner at the 2012 games. Gagan was just behind the silver medallist Niccolo Campriani of Italy who scored 701.5, while the gold medallist Alin George Moldoveanu of Romania was at 702.1.[3] However he failed to qualify for the finals of the men's 50-metre rifle three positions at the Royal Artillery Barracks.[19]
Narang won 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal in 50-metre rifle prone and 50-metre rifle 3 position respectively at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[20][21]
ISSF World Medal Tally
| No. | Event | Championship | Year | Place | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10m air rifle | ISSF World Shooting Championships | 2010 | Munich |  |
| 3 | 50m rifle 3 Positions | ISSF World Cup | 2009 | Changwon |  |
| 4 | 10m air rifle | ISSF World Cup | 2009 | Changwon | |
| 5 | 10m air rifle | ISSF World Cup Final | 2008 | Bangkok | |
| 6 | 10m air rifle | ISSF World Cup | 2008 | Beijing | |
| 7 | 10m air rifle | ISSF World Cup | 2006 | Guangzhou | |
World record
| Current world records held in 10 m Air Rifle | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Qualification | 600 |  Tevarit Majchacheep (THA) Denis Sokolov (RUS) Gagan Narang (IND) Gagan Narang (IND) Zhu Qinan (CHN) |
January 27, 2000 March 1, 2008 November 5, 2008 October 6, 2010 September 22, 2011 |
Langkawi (MAS) Winterthur (SUI) Bangkok (THA) New Delhi (IND) Wrocław (POL) |
|||
Controversy
In August 2010, Narang had publicly expressed his displeasure after being ignored for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award thrice and he threatened to skip the 2010 Commonwealth Games due to lack of motivation.[22] However, intense pressure from his family and fans, he later decided to participate.[23]
Summer Olympics
| Year | Event | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 Athens | 10 m air rifle | 12 | |
| 2008 Beijing | 10 m air rifle | 9 | |
| 50 m rifle Prone | 35 | ||
| 50 m rifle three positions | 13 | ||
| 2012 London | 10 m air rifle | |
|
| 50 m rifle prone | 18 | ||
| 50 m rifle three positions | 20 | ||
| 2016 Rio | 10 m air rifle | 23 | |
| 50 m rifle prone | 13 | ||
| 50 m rifle three positions | 33 |
Awards & Recognitions
In recognition with his achievements, Narang was conferred with the Padma Shree Award in 2011.[24] Gagan Narang was selected for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for 2010. This is the highest sports award in the country.[25] He was conferred the award by then president Pratibha Patil on 29 August 2011.[26] Also Gagan Narang was invited by the organisers of the Indian Grand Prix to wave the chequered flag in the 2012 Indian Grand Prix.[27]
Awards for 2012 Olympics Bronze medal
- ₹10 million (US$150,000) cash prize by State Government of Haryana.
- ₹5 million (US$74,000) cash prize by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh.[28]
- ₹5 million (US$74,000) cash prize by the State Government of Rajasthan.[29]
- ₹2 million (US$30,000) cash prize by Steel Ministry of India.
- 2 kg of gold by Sahara India Pariwar.
References
- ↑ "Who is Gagan Narang". Hindustan Times. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
- 1 2 "Gagan Narang wins India's first medal at London 2012 Olympics". Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- 1 2 "Olympics 2012: Gagan Narang shoots a bronze, India wins first medal". Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ↑ "Olympics 2012: 10m Air Rifle Final Scores". Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ↑ "Ten spectacular feats of Gagan Narang". Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ↑ Das, N Jagannath (31 July 2012). "Gagan's dream realised: Parents". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ "Gagan Narang". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- 1 2 Subrahmanyam, V. V. (31 July 2012). "Nerve-wracking moments... and joy!". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ Lohumi, Bhanu P (31 July 2012). "Narang's village bursts into celebrations". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ Deswal, Deepender (31 July 2012). "'We want to honour Gagan'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ "Royal reception for Gagan". The Hindu. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- 1 2 Unnikrishnan, M.S. (1 April 2006). "UNCOMMON WEALTH". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ "Gagan Narang wins India's first gold". 26 October 2003. a rediff.com article about Afro-Asian Games
- ↑ "Narang wins World Cup, sets world record". Times of India. 5 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ↑ "Gagan Narang shoots to world record, wins world cup". IBN Live. 5 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ↑ "Narang wins World Cup gold with new record". Rediff. 5 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ↑ "Gagan Narang grabs gold in 10m air rifle". 5 October 2010. an article on Commonwealth Games 2010
- ↑ "Asian Games: Gagan Narang provides India with silver lining on opening day". 13 November 2010. An article on Asian Games 2010
- ↑ "Olympics: Shooters Narang, Rajput fail to qualify". The Times Of India. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ "I'm happy to win a CWG medal in new event: Narang". 28 July 2014. an article on Commonwealth Games 2014
- ↑ "Sanjeev Rajput wins silver, Gagan Narang takes bronze". 29 July 2014. an article on Commonwealth Games 2014
- ↑ "Gagan Narang threatens to skip Commonwealth Games". The Times of India. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ↑ "Gagan Narang to participate at Commonwealth Games". Hindustan Times. New Delhi, India. Press Trust of India. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ↑ "Padma Shree for Gagan Narang". 25 January 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ↑ "Gagan Narang gets Khel Ratna award, Zaheer gets Arjuna". The Times of India. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ↑ "Gagan Narang to be conferred Khel Ratna on Aug 29". Rediff.com. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ↑ "A tribute to a champion". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
- ↑ "Rs50 lakh cash reward to Gagan for bagging Olympic medal". The Times Of India. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ↑ "Rajasthan announces cash awards for Olympic winners Vijay Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal and others". The Times Of India. 13 August 2012.
