HYDERABAD
India’s ace woman archer V. Jyothi Surekha said she is now eyeing the Asian Games gold later this year to complete a medal haul in all major championships across the world.
Fresh from the team gold in compound category partnering Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur at the Berlin World Championships, besides an individual bronze last week, the 27-year-old Surekha said an Asian Games gold is one medal she is desperate to win.
“The World Championship gold is a huge morale-booster. We were challenged by the windy conditions and rain. Still, we put up our best ever performance in any Worlds,” she said in a chat with The Hindu’
“We made it to the Worlds finals so many times. But, somehow we missed the gold. Clinching that coveted medal now is a truly special feeling,” said Surekha, who has won eight medals overall in the World championships so far.
“The Asian Games gold is my biggest target now. I want to keep giving my best and continue this form. It is never going to be easy in the Asiad as there will be some world-class archers from countries like Chinese Taipei and Korea. We have to be on our toes to repeat what we achieved in the Worlds.” Surekha said.
“The youngsters are doing so well that there is an ‘invisible’ fight amongst ourselves to scale the summit. For example, the performance of the 17-year-old Aditi Swami was superb. She won India’s first ever individual gold in the compound bow category. She started competing in the seniors grade this year and came up with such a stunning show. It is so good for Indian archery.
“I don’t think I will be making any changes in my technique given the back-to-back events lined up. Right now, we are training in Paris for the World Cup (Group IV Stage). The focus will be on consistency,” Surekha said.
On the support from Dream Foundation, Surekha said it was great news for compound archers as they were not getting that kind of backing earlier as it was a non-Olympic category. “It has helped us improve a lot given the kind of comfort provided and focusing more on the sport.”
Surekha added: “Competing in the Olympics is the biggest dream for me. Hope it will be included in the 2028 edition and I will be participating.”
