When Kirti Sharma topped the trials for the Indian women’s recurve team for Asian Games with Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Mohod, her father Vijay Kumar remembered the day in 2022 when he visited a commission agent and took a loan for Rs 60,000 to get her a new recurve bow. A small-time farmer with three acres in Jind district’s Ritoli village in Haryana, he convinced the agent that he would repay the money with future yield.
All that mattered to him was her daughter’s joy. “Chhori aise sambal ke rakh rah thi jaise sona ho (She was taking care of it like it was gold),” he tells The Indian Express. Now he says he wants to see a gold medal around her neck in the Asian Games, and slips down the memory lane.
A decade ago, Kirti had never heard of archery. She saw a bow for the first time when reputed coach Udham Singh visited the FS Convent school at nearby Pillukhera to spot talented archers and start an academy.
Kirti would not go past the trials because the coaches thought she was too skinny for archery. “When I first saw Kirti, she was too thin and I told her that we will think about her enrolling after 3-4 years,” says Singh.
Kumar knew why she looked thin. “Ek glass doodh se hi pura din nikalti thi (She would have only one glass of milk in the whole day). Since her childhood, she has never eaten a full meal or more than one chapati. We took her to various doctors but they all do not suffer from deficiency. Bus khana hi nahi khati thi (She would not have a full meal),” he recounts.
But by 2019, she had managed to convince the academy to select her. For three years, she trained with the wooden bow. In 2022, her father bought her a recurve bow. The same year she was selected for the SAI centre at Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, where Singh had joined as a coach. “Once coaches selected me for the academy at the village, I knew I had to do it. Whether the bow is heavy or the conditions tough, I have to master them. But then Udham went to SAI, which meant he only visited once in months and I could not have much practice sessions,” shares Kirti.
Kirti Sharma with her father Vijay Kumar. (Photo by special arrangement)
Swelling challenges
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When she was selected for the SAI academy, about 1350 Kms from her village, the archer faced another challenge. “I had not gone out of my district, or even the state, Haryana. Relatives and villagers asked my father why he is sending me so far,” she explains.
Kirti, though, had made up her mind. But at the academy, she had to begin from the basics. Singh recounts: “We had to work a lot on her strength and to make her body in alignment with the bow motion. We also worked on her bow arm strength as well as stability.”
At the academy, they worked on her muscle gain. “With the help of nutritionists, we helped her gain shoulder mass and more muscles. Earlier, she was scared of competing at the international level but we have spent a lot of time on her visualisation process,” says Singh.
Kirti Sharma with coach Udham Singh. (Photo: Special arrangement)
The breaks
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The bronze medal at the National Games last year was a big turning point. She then made her debut for the country in Asia Cup followed by two more editions of the tournament. In the second event, she won the team bronze.
Last year, she won the team gold in the junior nationals. In the first stage trials in Kolkata this year, she finished fifth. In the second stage and final trials, from May 15 to May 18, she stood fourth in the qualification rounds with a total of 1971 followed by eight wins out of 11 matches, including a win over veteran Deepika Kumari, in the round-robin stage. Beating her idol was a dream come true. “We have all grown up seeing Deepika didi and we all dream to shoot like her. To compete against her was surreal.”
In the last phase of the trials, she scored wins over Ankita Bhakat, Yukta Sri and Ridhi to end with 13.5 points and topped the trial. She looks forward to the Asian Games. “I see Asian games as a challenge as well as one of the biggest platforms to show my talent. I believe I have the capability to win a medal,” she avers.
In the international circuit, she admires Paris Olympics triple gold medallist Korean archer Lim Si-hyeon as well as Dhiraj Bommadevara, who finished fourth in the Games. “I like the way Lim Si-hyeon shoots. The way she won three gold medals in Paris with a natural bow hand movement as well anchor movement and release momentum is something each one of us dream,” signs off Kirti. Now, her own dream has a golden hue.
