Jitu Rai

Jitu Rai

Personal information
Nationality	Nepalese, Indian
Born	(1987-08-26) 26 August 1987 Sankhuwasabha, Nepal
Height	5 ft (152 cm) 4
Weight	60
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Shooting
Rank	1 (10 metre air pistol)[1] 4 (50 metre pistol)[2]
Event(s)	10 metre air pistol 50 metre pistol
Medal record Men's shooting Competitor for  India 51st ISSF World Championships 2014 Silver 2014 Granada 50 m pistol ISSF World Cup 2014 Gold 2014 Maribor 10 m air pistol Silver 2014 Munich 10 m air pistol Silver 2014 Maribor 50 m pistol Commonwealth Games Gold 2014 Glasgow 50 m pistol Asian Games Gold 2014 Incheon 50 m pistol Bronze 2014 Incheon 10 m air pistol team

Jitu Rai (Nepali: जीतू राई) (born 25 August 1987 in Nepal) is a shooter of Nepalese origin playing for India who competes in the 10 metre air pistol and 50 metre pistol events.

Early life

His early life was spent in a remote area of Sittalpati-8, Sankhuwa Sabha district of Nepal. He is the fourth brother among five siblings. Naib-Subedar in the 11th Gurkha Regiment of Indian Army, Rai who was born in Sankhuwa Sabha in Nepal, has always called Nepal his homeland ever since shifting his base in 2006. Three of his brothers are in foreign countries working odd jobs while his mother cultivates rice on a small patch of terraced land that the family holds in his native village in Nepal.That Rai, is a citizen of India is proved by the fact that he possesses a passport (No J6211856), valid till February 21, 2021, with the address of GRRC Kiranti Line, Sadar Cantt Road, Lucknow on it. He also has a certificate of participation in the 2011 National Games where he represented Uttar Pradesh.

“He has a valid Indian passport. He is an Indian citizen as per Citizenship ACT 1955,” said Amul Asthana, commandant of the Lucknow based 11 GRCC-Rai’s regiment.

His father passed away in 2006, which prompted his move to India. He joined the 11 Gorkha Regiment in 2006 as a Sepoy and eventually moved up the ladder to the rank of Naib-Subedar.

Rai first made it to the Army's shooting squad in 2010-11 but failed to live up to expectations and was subsequently sent back to his unit, putting an end to his training at the AMU in Mhow.^[3]

Career

In 2014, at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, he won the silver medal medal in the 10 metre air pistol event. Following this, in Maribor, Rai won two medals; a silver in the 50 metre pistol event, and a gold in the 10 metre air pistol event. In the process, he won three medals in nine days at the World Cup^[4] and also became the first person to have won two medals at a single world cup for India.^[5] Following his achievements, he was ranked number 1 in the world, in 10 metre air pistol and number 4, in 50 metre pistol, in July 2014.

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Rai created the Games record in the qualification round of the 50 metre pistol event, having scored 562 points.^[6] He went on to win the gold medal in the event, scoring 194.1 points in the final, thus creating another Games record.^[7]

In the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon in South Korea, Jitu won the gold medal in the 50 m pistol category.^[8][9] He also won a bronze in the men's 10 m air pistol team event.

References

External links

• Jitu Rai profile at ISSF