sport shooter
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...
, supported by the
Olympic Gold Quest
Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) is a program of the Foundation for Promotion of Sports and Games, a Not for Profit (Section 25) Company, which is committed to bridging the gap between the best athletes in India and the best athletes in the world thus hel ...
. He won the bronze medal in the Men's 10 m Air Rifle Event at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...
in London with a final score of 701.1 on 30 July 2012.
Early life and background
Gagan was born to Bhimsen Narang and his wife Amarjit, in a
Punjabi Hindu
Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab regio ...
Arora
Arora is a community of Punjab, comprising both Hindus and Sikhs. The name is derived from their native place Aror.
Historically, the Arora section of the Khatri community had been principally found in West Punjab, in the districts to the sou ...
family in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
on 6 May 1983. His father is a retired chief manager of the
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...
. Gagan's family hail from the Simla Gujran village of
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...
's
Panipat district
Panipat district () is one of the 22 districts of Haryana in north India. The historical town of Panipat is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district occupies an area of , making it the nineteenth largest in the state with ...
. However, his father's job assignments made them to shift from Panipat to
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
, where he was brought up. He did his schooling from the Gitanjali Senior School. He attained his
Bachelor of Computer Application
A Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, (abbreviated BSIT or B.Sc. IT), is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the information technology. The degree is normally required in order to work in the Information tec ...
degree from the
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
's
Osmania University
Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. ...
. He took to shooting when his father presented him an air pistol in 1997. He went about perfecting his shooting skills at the backyard of his home in
Begumpet
Begumpet ("Begum's Place") is a part of Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Begumpet is named after the daughter of the sixth Nizam ( Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI), Basheer Unnisa Begum, who received it as part of her wedding dowry wh ...
. 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.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
on 26 October 2003 in Men's 10m air rifle competition. He won the Air Rifle Gold medal at the World Cup 2006 and followed it up with win in the event in April 2010.
In a pre-Olympic event in
Hannover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, Germany, Gagan shot an Air Rifle score higher than the world record, 704.3 as opposed to 703.1 set by Thomas Farnik of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in the World Cup 2006. Gagan Narang won 4 Gold medals at
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
.
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. On 4 November 2008, he broke
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
's Thomas Farnik's record, set in the 2006 World Cup final in
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
, Spain. Gagan said his win was special because
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
, who won the United States' Presidential election on same day, was a source of inspiration.
Narang added 4 Gold medals to the Indian tally at the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
in New Delhi. In the Men's 10 m Air Rifle singles event, he shot a perfect 600 which was a new record. Gagan also clinched a silver medal in his pet event at the
Asian Games 2010
The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several even ...
. He also combined with
Abhinav Bindra
Abhinav Apjit Bindra is an Indian Olympic gold medallist, retired sport shooter, and businessman.Sanjeev Rajput to win the country another silver, in the team event behind champions, China. He won both of his silvers on the opening day of Asian Games.
Narang won the bronze medal in the 10m air rifle event at the
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
with a total score of 701.1 becoming India's first medal winner at the 2012 games. This win made his only the 3rd shooter from India to medal at the Olympics. 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.
However he failed to qualify for the finals of the men's 50-metre rifle three positions at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
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
The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
in Glasgow.
ISSF World Medal Tally
World record
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
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
due to lack of motivation. However, intense pressure from his family and fans, he later decided to participate.
Summer Olympics
Awards & Recognitions
In recognition with his achievements, Narang was conferred with the Padma Shree Award in 2011.
Gagan Narang was selected for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for 2010. This is the highest sports award in the country. He was conferred the award by then president
Pratibha Patil
Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...
on 29 August 2011. Also Gagan Narang was invited by the organisers of the Indian Grand Prix to wave the chequered flag in the 2012 Indian Grand Prix.
Awards for 2012 Olympics Bronze medal
* cash prize by State Government of
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...
.
* cash prize by the State Government of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
.
* cash prize by the State Government of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...
.
* cash prize by Steel Ministry of India.
* 2 kg of gold by
Sahara India Pariwar
Sahara India Pariwar (''pariwar'' being Hindi for "family") is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The group operates business sectors such as finance, infrastructure & housing, real estate, sports, power, man ...