Vijay Kumar: I was thrilled to win an Olympic medal - and expected a promotion

Sport shooter Vijay Kumar did India proud at the recent London Olympics, winning a silver medal in the 25-metre rapid fire pistol event. Speaking with Arun Sharma, Kumar, a serving Subedar Major in the Indian army's Dogra Regiment, discussed how he's blended army life with hisinterest in shooting, how he felt upon winning an Olympic medal - and why being promoted within the army is so important to him now:
You have a passion for sport - how did you come to join the army?
I was born to a humble family based in a small village of Himachal Pradesh called Barsar, where i was brought up.My father, Bankur Ram Sharma, is a man of poor means. As a kid, i always wanted to be an army officer and i achieved my dream when i got entry into the forces. The other reason to join the army was to support my family. So, i completed my education in the Hamirpur district and right after this, joined the army. I was posted at the Army Marksmanship Unit since 2003, under the 16 Dogra Regiment at Mhow. My unit is in Nagaland.
How did you manage the rigours of army life with training in shooting?
I joined the army eight years ago and took up shooting very seriously then. The basic things i needed for this were provided to me. I started working hard and won medal after medal in various tournaments. Now you can see the result of all that hard work and the training given to me by the army and my Russian coach Pavel Smirnov.
Were there challenges - family, monetary, work pressures - which you faced as you trained?
Well, yes, the pressures were there since i come from a humble family. But even if work pressure was there in the army, specific time was always allocated for shooting training, so i kept learning.
How did you feel when you won an Olympic medal? Did you expect it?
I was absolutely thrilled winning a silver medal in London. I never expected it. It came like a bolt from the blue.
You've been given awards and rewards since, including a promotion to Subedar Major. Why are you insistent on a promotion to officer level in the army?
First of all, my joy has known no bounds upon receiving all these awards. As far as the promotion issue goes, well, my promotion was already due last year. At that time, no elevation was done but now, all of a sudden, i was promoted to Subedar Major. Is this because of winning sporting glory for India?
The Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the Olympic gold medal-winning shooter Abhinav Bindra were given the rank of honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army last year. I expected something similar after winning an Olympic silver medal.
An Olympic champion in the army - how do your colleagues view you today?
My colleagues in the army have been overwhelmed with happiness over this achievement. And the army remains extremely important to me. Army life is full of challenges and i have received such firm grounding after joining the forces that i can tackle any type of situation today, leave alone the hard work needed to fulfil all my aims.