Apurvi Chandela is an Indian air rifle shooter who competes in the 10m air rifle category. In 2016, she won the Arjuna Award, one of the highest sports awards in India, for her outstanding performance.
Wiki/Biography
Apurvi Singh Chandela was born on Monday, January 4, 1993, in Jaipur, Rajasthan (age 31; as of 2024). Her zodiac sign is Capricorn.
Apurvi Chandela’s childhood photos with her father
She attended Mayo College Girls’ School, Ajmer, Rajasthan and Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School, Jaipur, Rajasthan. Later, she completed her BA in Sociology from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University.
appearance
Height: 5′1″
Weight: 52kg
Eye color: brown
Hair color: brown
family
Her father, Kuldeep Singh Chandela, is a hotelier in Rajasthan, and her mother, Bindu Rathore, is a former basketball player. Apurvez’s sister Tejasvi Chandela is a pastry chef.
Apurvi Chandela with her parents and sister
Profession
Apurvi started shooting when she was in grade 11 at Maharani Gayatri Devi School for Girls in Jaipur, Rajasthan. When she entered the academy in Delhi, she was selected for the National Shooting Championships (2012) and won the gold medal in the 10 m air rifle event. She then started shooting training under the guidance of “Rakesh Manpat”, an Indian shooter from Bangalore. Soon she excelled in competitions and won many national and international competitions. In 2019, she was named the world’s number one 10m air rifle shooter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRUXT1TYja4
She said in an interview,
I play every game with the mentality of doing my best, and I think it’s normal to have pressure to perform well. I also felt this way in the first tournament I played, but now I’m used to it because I’ve played a lot of tournaments and gained more experience. “
Later, she received shooting training under the guidance of Stanislav Lapidus and national team coach Oleg Mikhailov. In an interview, she talked about her coach. she says,
I would train back home (Jaipur) or in Bangalore where my personal coach is and when I came back to the (Indian) team I had a good rapport with Oleg sir, the coach there currently. He knows me well and knows what works for me and what doesn’t. He has been working with us for some time (since September 2016). Therefore, I have reached an understanding with my personal and national team coaches. They understand each other. So this works well for me. They let me stay in my own space because it was more important for me to work with a clear head. “
Apurvi Chandela with her coach Rakesh Manpat
Her dominant hand was correct for shooting the 10m air rifle, and so was her dominant eye. She was selected to represent India at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the 10 m rifle aerial shooting category. The event was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
10m air rifle medal
gold
- ISSF World Cup 2019 held in New Delhi
- 2019 ISSF World Cup held in Munich
- 2019 ISSF World Cup held in Rio de Janeiro
- Indian Senior National Shooting Championship 2012 held in New Delhi
- Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014
Apurvi Chandela wins gold medal at ISSF World Cup 2019
silver
- 2015 ISSF World Cup held in Munich
- 2019 ISSF World Cup held in Munich
- 2019 ISSF World Cup finals held in Putian
bronze
- 2015 ISSF World Cup held in Changwon
- 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games
Awards and Honors
- Letter of thanks from Dr. Pranab Mukherjee, former President of India, July 2014
Apurvi Chandela’s letter of thanks
favorite thing
- Songs: Hall Of Fame by Will.I.Am (2012) and title song by Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)
- Food: Gatte ki Sabji and Daal-Baati
- Films: Mary Kom (2014), Raazi (2018) and Angrezi Mediun (2020)
- Autobiography: “Open” by Andre Agassi, “Rafa – My Story” by Rafael Nadal and “Historical Lens” by Abhinav Bindra
- Fiction Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Facts/Trivia
- Her family and friends call her Apu.
- Initially, she wanted to be a sports journalist but decided to become a shooter after watching former Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra win a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Apurvi Chandela with Abhinav Bindra and Niccolo Campriani
- Her great-grandfather Thakur K. Singh started shooting sports after his retirement along with “Dr. K. Singh”. Karni Singh is a five-time Olympic shooter and a shooting range in Delhi is named after him.
- In the early years of her training, she had to travel 45 minutes from her home to a shooting range in Jaipur. Later, her parents set up a shooting range in the basement of her home.
- In her free time she enjoys reading, traveling and meditating. she says,
The life of an international athlete may be busy, but Chandra loves traveling and always makes time to stop and smell the roses. Rome, the Eternal City, was her favorite destination. “
- In an interview, she talked about her love for photography. she says,
I have seen the photos taken by Gagan (Narang) and I really like them. Deep down in my heart I have always wanted to learn nature/wildlife photography. So, I’m doing online courses. I wanted to do better, but due to filming I never had the time to do it ahead of time. “
- Apurvi is an avid animal lover and owns three pet dogs, namely Gabbar, Shera and Phantom.
Apurvi Chandra and her pet dog
- She follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- In addition to rifle shooting, she enjoys playing basketball, football and cricket.
- Chandela enjoys learning new languages and has a keen interest in learning German. In an interview, she also talked about the same thing. she says,
After completing the photography course I also want to learn German as there are a lot of shooting activities in Germany. German is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. My uncle speaks German very well, so he can also guide me if I get stuck. “
- She has a fetish about air rifle shooting. She said in an interview,
We had a rifle rack and I used to put a blue towel in it. The mount has a rubber top so it helps me slide the rifle and hold it. When I have to take it out, the towel helps get it out smoothly. I’ve been doing this for years and I’m a bit superstitious about it. “
Apurvi Chandela in practice
- In an interview, she shared her story of always coming back strong after losing a match. she says,
I believe that highs and lows are part of every athlete’s journey and I can always learn something from a bad game. Taking a step back after a failure in itself gave me the motivation to work harder, be stronger, and take a leap in the next game. Passion for the sport is extremely important and pride in winning for the country. “
- Apurvi is a spiritual person with a deep faith in God.
- In an interview, she was asked how her family and people in the city reacted to her success. She responded,
My family is the reason I’ve gotten to this point. They have been my pillar of strength. They always encourage me and enjoy watching me play. In fact, 12 of my family were in Glasgow to support me during the Commonwealth Games. My city Jaipur has given me a lot of love and I am happy to see so many young people taking up shooting. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education