Tanvi Lathwal first Indian-origin shooter in Australia squad

NEW DELHI: Tanvi Lathwal idolises Manu Bhaker and aspires to emulate the Indian shooting star’s achievements. The 15-year-old, whose family hails from Haryana, took her first step towards achieving her dreams when she secured a position in the 12-member Australian shooting contingent for the ISSF Junior World Cup in Germany’s Suhl from May 19-27.
Tanvi will compete in the 10m air pistol category. She is the first shooter of Indian origin to have made the Aussie squad. Tanvi had brilliant scores across three qualifying competitions — New South Wales (NSW) state championships (564/600), Queensland state championships (559) and junior Nationals (560 pts). She claimed gold medals in all three events and is currently Australia’s No. 1 junior shooter in 10m air pistol.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.

“My shooting journey in Australia commenced in 2023 when my family relocated to Sydney from India, following our previous departure from Australian shores in 2015. I was born in Australia during my father’s earlier posting. My father (Harveer Lathwal) registered me at the Genesis Pistol Shooting Club, as Australian regulations mandate club membership for all shooters. As a competitor, one must participate in specified tournaments and achieve minimum qualification scores,” Tanvi, currently ranked third in the ‘Open’ category (no age limitation), told TOI from Sydney.
“This will be the first time an Indian-origin girl will be representing the Australian shooting team, an achievement I cherish. I have strong confidence regarding my World Cup prospects,” said Tanvi, whose family hails from Sonepat’s Chidana village and studies in class 10th at the Arthur Phillip High School.
Harveer revealed that Tanvi qualified for the Indian shooting team in 2022 after excelling in selection trials organised by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). This followed her gold medal win at the under-14 state championships and impressive show at national meets. However, she was denied the opportunity because she didn’t have an Indian passport.
NRAI indicated that she could participate in Indian tournaments as a foreign national.
“In 2008, we migrated from Sonepat to Australia after I got a job there with a German company," said Tanvi's father, Harveer. "I had applied for a permanent residency (PR), as I am a qualified electronics engineer. Tanvi was born the next year in Sydney, and by birth became an Australian citizen. According to Australian immigration rules, if you have come there on PR and have a stable job, you can get the permanent citizenship in four years. In 2012, our entire family got Australian citizenship.
“I returned to India in 2015 because I wanted my children to learn about our culture and traditions. Tanvi, while studying in Sonepat, enrolled herself as a badminton player and even participated in district and state-level championships winning medals. In 2019, she met with an unfortunate bike accident, which resulted in a broken ankle.
“During the Covid period, she started shooting under coach Ankur Arya and, in 2022 she won gold at the CBSE school nationals in Ranchi. She was doing well and even accumulated good scores at the selection trials organised by the NRAI. But because she didn’t possess an Indian passport, Tanvi wasn’t selected.
“In July 2023, our family migrated back to Sydney after I got a job with an engineering company here. I immediately got Tanvi enrolled at a shooting club and, since then, there’s no looking back,” he added.