Sanjeev Rajput: A journey of Indian sailor to Olympic Rifle Shooter

 

Master Chief Petty Officer Sanjeev Rajput (5 January 1981) is an Arjuna Awardee Indian shooter from Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. At the age of 18, he was recruited in the Indian Navy as a sailor.

While serving in the Indian Navy, Sanjeev picked his interest in shooting. His interest in shooting ignited when he was sent to the sea for training and commissioned in gunnery. He was extraordinary in target practice and thus it was an easy decision for him to try his hands at shooting.

On that period ships didn’t have a shooting range. Sanjeev and his colleagues fixed a target on the quarterdeck with the long sticks and clips and began to take aim. Sanjeev used all the weapons including pistols, carbines, and big bore rifles.

His shooting career began in the year 2001. Rajput first tasted success in shooting in the year 2004. At the 2004 SAF Games in Islamabad he won not one, nor two, but three gold medals! He also won a silver medal. At the national Championship Oct 2004 Sanjeev Rajput proves to be a new find by winning back to back finals with two different weapons on the final day of the National Championship at Reoti Ranges, Indore.

He won the bronze medal in the Men’s 50m Rifle Prone at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He won a bronze medal in the 2006 Asian Games, Doha.

Sanjeev Rajput made his maiden Olympic berth after making a New National Record of 1170/1200 in ISSF World Cup Fort Benning, USA. He also bagged second place in Asian Shooting Championship, in Kuwait in December 2007 in a 50m rifle and a team Bronze in the same event and a team silver in 50m Rifle Prone.

He contested in the men's 50 m rifle prone event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but failed to reach the finals. He also contests in the men's 50 m rifle three positions.

In 2009, he won the Gold medal in the 50m air rifle prone team at the Asian Airgun Championship. Rajput’s achievements were acknowledged with an Arjuna Award in 2010. He also won Services Best Sports Person award for the year 2009-10.

The year 2010 saw him claiming double gold in 50m Rifle 3 Position event in Commonwealth Shooting Championship plus a silver in 10m air rifle event. He bagged a silver medal in ISSF World Cup Sydney, 2010 in 10m Air Rifle, while he won a team silver in 10m Air Rifle in Asian Games, held in China.

In 2011, he won gold medal in world cup held in Changwon, Korea. He also made a New National Record in the same event by again breaking his own record 3rd time. By winning this gold he became the third Indian to qualify for the London Olympics. He finished 8th place at the ISSF World Cup finals in Poland in his Pet event. He also won 05 Gold and a Silver medal in the 34th National Games Ranchi, Bihar.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics Rajput could not make it to the finals of the men's 50-metre rifle 3 positions at the Royal Artillery Barracks.

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Sanjeev won a silver medal in the 50 m Rifle 3 positions event. He also retired from Navy as a Junior Commissioned Officer in this year.

In 2016 he won his second ISSF world cup medal in 50 metres rifle 3 positions event at Baku, where he ended up with a silver medal.

At the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018, he won the Gold medal in the 50m 3 positions event. In 2018 Asian Games, he won silver medal in men's 50 metres rifle 3 positions category.

At the ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro (August 2019), Rajput qualified for the final of the 50m 3 positions event with a score of 1180, going on to win the Silver medal. With the podium finish, he also obtained the quota for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Recently, at the age of 40 he won the gold medal in 50m rifle 3 positions mixed team with Tejaswini Sawant. After winning the event he told PTI "This World Cup is significant in the sense that it could act as a test event for the shooters before the Olympics,"

With new faces grabbing headlines at every tournament, seniors like Sanjeev Rajput are getting less media attention. However, that does not affect him, steadily he continues to work hard and win laurels for the country. In the business since 2001, Rajput still continues working equally hard for every tournament. This spirit and humility has helped him gain continued success. His simplicity is visible through his words as well. In an interview with the New Indian Express, he said, “I started shooting when I was 24 and now there are youngsters these days who are winning internationals medals at 16. So, I would like to call them seniors. Experience does help for sure but I believe every match is a new match. You start from zero.”

However, he is now eyeing the top spot at the Tokyo Olympics. He has a clear target of winning gold at Tokyo 2021 Olympics and he was already started working on it. He know that it will be tough for him, but he can do it. We all hope that his efforts will never fail and that he will be able to bring the country a gold medal with pride.

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