Avneet Kaur Sidhu, more popular as Avneet Sidhu, is an Indian shooter. In her shooting career, Avneet has bagged around 60 medals in various national and international events. To mark her glory, the Punjab government has decided to honour her by offering the post of deputy superintendent of police (DSP). She has already served the role of Assistant Manager in Air India. She is the recipient of Arjuna Award and Punjab State Award.
Early Life and Education of Avneet Sidhu
She was born on December 11, 1981 in Muktsar in the Punjab state of India. After attending St. Joseph`s Convent School in Bathinda, she did her graduation in Computer Applications from Dasmesh Girls College, Badal. Then she went on to complete her Masters degree in English literature in 2005.
Career of Avneet Sidhu
Avneet kick-started her shooting career in 2001 while pursuing her graduation. She bagged medals at inter-college, inter-university events and the National Games. In a short span of six years, she reached the top and secured a gold and a silver medal in the 18th Commonwealth Games-2006 which held at Melbourne. In the same year, she also won an Olympic quota for India in the 49th World Shooting Championship held at Zagreb (Croatia). This win made her the sixth sportsperson (shooting) of the country to book a quota place in the Olympic Games 2008 Beijing, China.
In addition to these, she has represented India in the 12th World Cups. She is the first woman shooter from Punjab to represent India in the Beijing Olympic Games, 2008. As record goes, she is also the first woman shooter from Punjab to win the Commonwealth and Asian Games medals.
Achievements of Avneet Sidhu
•She was honoured with the Arjuna Award by President Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil on 29 August 2008.
•She won Gold medal at 51st National Shooting Championship, Ahmedabad.
•She won two silver medals at 33rd National Games, Guwahati, 2007.
•She bagged Bronze medal at 11th Asian Shooting Championship, Kuwait, 2007.
•She won Bronze medal Asian Games, Doha 2006.
•She won Silver Medal at Individual Commonwealth Games 2006, Melbourne.
•She grabbed Gold medal Team at Commonwealth Games 2006, Melbourne.
Personal life of Avneet Sidhu
She is married to the Indian hockey captain Rajpal Singh. The couple is blessed with a child.