Olympian Jitu Rai ties the knot with kickboxer Sushmita

Indian shooter, Jitu Rai got hitched to kickboxer Sushmita Rai, who hails from the Bhasmey village of Sikkim's Majhitar. The ceremony was held at a private resort in East Sikkim on Sunday. Chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling also graced the occasion.

The veteran marksman was dropped from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) last month. "I will now focus on my training and my target is to earn a berth for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Union government's TOP Scheme certainly gives financial impetus to an athlete which in turn helps in improving the scores as the equipment and ammunition are expensive. The Indian army has been backing me since my initial years, which is why I have been able to achieve so much," Jitu told ANI in a telephonic interview.

 

Expressing gratitude over the chief minister taking out time to attend his marriage, Jitu said, "The chief minister came here to attend the wedding, this in itself is a gift to me."

Talking about his project aimed at promoting shooting in the country, he stated, "I want to also open a shooting range to give a boost to the budding marksmen in the remotest of areas."

His wife, Sushmita, shot to fame after she clinched a silver medal in the WAKO Asian Kickboxing Championship held in Pune in 2015. The following year, she won a bronze medal at the World Martial Arts Masterships in Cheongju, South Korea.

In 2014, Jitu created a Commonwealth Games record in the qualification round of the 50m pistol event, with 562 points. He went on to win a gold medal in the event, scoring 194.1 points in the final, thus creating another record at the sporting event.

In the 2014 Asian Games held in South Korea's Incheon, Jitu bagged a gold in the 50m pistol category. He also won a bronze in the men's 10m Air pistol team event.

In 2016, he took home a silver medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup held in Baku, Azerbaijan in the 10m air pistol event.

During the 10m air pistol event of the 2016 Olympics, Jitu Rai made a remarkable comeback to sneak into the finals but failed to replicate his form as he finished last.