Mumbai, July 3, 2025: In recognition of her outstanding contributions to Indian shooting, Olympian and former chief coach of the Indian Shooting team, Suma Shirur, was presented with the SJAM Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Mumbai. The ceremony took place at the prestigious Bombay Gymkhana on the occasion of World Sports Journalists Day. Sharing the honour with her were long-time compatriots and fellow icons of Indian shooting, Deepali Deshpande and Anjali Bhagwat.
The prestigious accolade celebrates Suma Shirur‘s exceptional commitment to the sport – from being the second Indian woman shooter to reach an Olympic final, to guiding the Indian shooting team to success at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, her journey marked not just by medals and milestones, but by quiet, relentless and pursuit of excellence.
The SJAM Lifetime Achievement Award is one of the most cherished sports awards presented by the sports journalist community. In 2016, it was presented to cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar, making Suma Shirur’s recognition this year all the more special, as she joins a truly elite circle of sporting greats.
As Suma took the stage to accept the honour, in the presence of veteran journalists and fellow athletes, she expressed, “I extend my sincere gratitude to the Sports Journalists’ Association of Mumbai for considering me for this prestigious award. It is truly an honour to receive it alongside my esteemed friends from the shooting fraternity. This award serves as a meaningful encouragement in my continued efforts to contribute to the development and advancement of shooting sports in India
Beyond her formidable coaching track record, Suma Shirur stands out as a committed advocate for gender equity and grassroots engagement in sports. Through the Lakshya Shooting Club, she has mentored over 200 national-level athletes, including Tokyo and Paris Paralympic gold medalist Avni Lekhara, junior world champion Parth, World Championship medalist Kiran Jadhav and Youth Olympic medalist Shahu Mane. In recognition of her outstanding contribution to Indian shooting and athlete development, she was honoured with the Best Coach of the Year (Female) award at the Indian Sports Honours 2024.