Olympic medalist Vijay Kumar gets rousing welcome
Olympic silver medalist and army's ace pistol shooter Vijay Kumar, who has been promoted to the rank of Subedar major, was accorded a grand welcome on his homecoming at the Indore airport near here.
Olympic silver medalist and army's ace pistol shooter Vijay Kumar, who has been promoted to the rank of Subedar major, was accorded a grand welcome on his homecoming at the Indore airport near here.
Army's pipe band and hundreds of armymen gathered at the airport on Sunday before the arrival of Kumar by the Delhi-Indore flight.
As soon as Vijay's flight reached the airport at 3.45 PM, the pipe band of Sikh regiment started playing victory tunes and the soldiers of AMU and Infantry School raised slogans for him.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and former union minister Anant Kumar also greeted him on his arrival at the airport lounge.
In a caravan of army vehicles, Vijay arrived at Mhow, where hundreds of army men lined up on both sides of the road between Kali Paltan area and the AMU node welcoming him with garlands and slogans such as "Vijay Saheb Amar Rahein" and "AMU Amar Rahein".
A huge crowd of soldiers and officers walked behind Vijay to the lawn of AMU near 50 meter range, about one and a half kilometer in less than ten minutes.
There was so much enthusiasm in the people present that everybody in the crowd was sloganeering and cheering him.
Talking to newsmen, Vijay said that it was a great experience for him to come back to AMU which has made him a shooter of this stature.
He gave all the credit for the medal to his training in AMU, his coach Powell Smirnoff and the rigorous practice to achieve his goal.
On the difference between the Indian and foreign shooters, he said they are well equipped and having most modern gadgets with them but the Indian shooting is also improving with time. He said that the biggest competitors are the shooters of China and Germany.
His promotion to the rank of Subedar Major was pending since last year but has been cleared now.
However, he said that when civilian shooters of his calibre are given IAS ranks then same arrangement should be made in the army and if needed, law should be amended.
On his aim for the 2016 Olympics, he said that after the celebration is over, he will discuss the plan with his coach and form a strategy for it.