KADAPA: Kovvuru Surya Teja Reddy, a 26-year-old youth from Proddatur in Kadapa district, has become an inspiration for many young shooters after becoming a ‘renowned shooter.’
A ‘renowned shooter’ means a person who has participated in a National Shooting Championship in an open men’s event or open women’s event or open civilians’ event, through a qualifying tournament or wild card entry, conducted under the rules of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) and attained the minimum qualifying score prescribed by the National Rifle Association.
He has bagged two gold medals and two silver medals at national shooting competitions. Surya Teja said he is inspired by olympian Rajavardhan Singh Rathod. An architect by profession, he is now practising hard to achieve his goal: win an Olympic medal for the country.
He is equally good at swimming and taekwondo. He is the district champion in swimming and the State champion in Taekwondo.
After finishing his matriculation in Kadapa, Surya Teja joined Intermediate in Hyderabad and graduated in B Arch. Later, he started an architecture firm and provides freelance services. In 2017, Surya Teja started training under shooting coach Shyam Prasad at the Sports Authority of Telangana (SAT). Surya Teja, who had been training using his coach’s gun for all this while, now started training with a special rifle imported from Germany.
He won Gold and Silver medals in the 50-metre rifle prone and the 50-metre rifle three-position championship at the 22nd AP Shooting Championship held in Hyderabad from August 1 to 7. He secured 577 points out of 600 and won the Gold medal at the competition. He also became the first to hit a renowned shot at the national level after securing 593.8 points in the 50-metre rifle prone category at the 61st National Rifle Shooting Championship held at Thiruvananthapuram last December.
He also participated in the 300-metre big bore rifle prone position event at the 27th GV Mavlankar Shooting Championship held at Kharagpur on March 31, 2022. He secured 258 points out of 300 and qualified for the nationals.
He became a renowned shooter by securing 535 out of 600 points at the 61st National Shooting Championship held in April 2018. Surya Teja also got recognition as a renowned shooter at a very young age at the National Rifle Association of India.
Surya Teja attributed his success to his parents and his coach Shyam Prasad. His parents Kovvuru Madhusudhan Reddy and Saritha said Surya Teja always aspired to achieve something in his career.