Personal Information
Full Name | Tejaswini Sawant |
Date of Birth | September 12, 1980 |
Nationality | Indian |
Role | 50m Women’s Rifle 3 Position |
Tejaswini Sawant: A Brief Biography
Tejaswini Sawant is an Indian woman shooter born on 12th September 1980. She is a native of the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. Tejaswini specializes in Rifle and represents India internationally in 50m Air Rifle 3 Positions.
Tejaswini Sawant - Early Life, Family & Background
Tejaswini Sawant was born to Late Ravindra Sawant and Sunita Sawant. Her father was an officer in the Indian Navy and her mother is a housewife. She has two younger sisters, Anuradha Pitre and Vijaymala Gavali.
Tejaswini took up shooting when she was 13-year-old but began to pursue the sport professionally at the age of 21. She received her first training from Jaisingh Kusale in Kolhapur. In her early days of training, Tejaswini used to practice in the Dudhali area of Kolhapur, one of the few places having proper facilities for a shooter.
Tejaswini Sawant currently trains under professional shooter turned coach Kuheli Ganguly. She completed her graduation in BA Psychology from Shivaji University in Kolhapur and has been married to professional bodybuilder Sameer Darekar since 2016.
Tejaswini Sawant Biography
Under the tutelage of Jaisingh Kusale, Tejaswini Sawant's professional career began to take off. She made her first national appearance in 2003 at the National Shooting Championships. In 2004, she received her first International break after winning the Gold medal in 10m Air Rifle at the South Asian Sports Federation Games in Islamabad.
Between 2004 and 2006, Tejaswini took home 16 national medals, including 5 Gold medals, 6 Silver, and 5 Bronze medals at the National Shooting Championships. In 2006, she was unsurprisingly selected to represent India at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
In 2011, Tejaswini won the Bronze medal in 50m Rifle Prone after she was surprisingly defeated by Gold-medalist Rajkumari Rathore at the National Championships. In 2015, she helped her Maharashtra team to clinch the Gold medal in the Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team.
In 17 years of her professional shooting career, Tejaswini Sawant had won over 30 National Championships medals (2004-2019).
Tejaswini Sawant Achievements
Tejaswini Sawant got major career breakthrough at the age of 24 when she won the Silver medal in Women 10m Air Rifle at the 2005 Asian Shooting Championships In 2006, she caught the limelight after winning two Gold medals in 10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Rifle Pairs at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.
In 2009, Tejaswini won her first ISSF World Cup medal by winning Bronze in Women 50m Air Rifle 3 Positions in Munich, Germany. That year, she participated in the Shooting World Cup Final and finished at 7th position in 50m Air Rifle 3 Positions.
Between 2010 and 2018, Tejaswini had won a Gold medal in 50m Rifle 3 Positions (2018), three Silver medals in 50m Rifle Prone (2010 and 2018) and 50m Rifle 3 Positions Pairs (2010), and a Bronze in 50m Rifle Prone Pairs (2010) at the Commonwealth Games. In 2010, she hit the national headlines after becoming the first Indian woman shooter to emerge as World Champion in 50m Rifle Prone at the World Shooting Championships.
At the 2019 Asian Shooting Championships, Tejaswini qualified for her debut Olympics at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after she reached the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Final. Also, she took home the Gold medal and a Bronze in 50m Rifle Prone Team and 50m Rifle 3 Positions respectively.
In 2021, Tejaswini won the Gold medal in 50m Rifle 3 Positions Mixed Team at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi.