BHUBANESWAR: Niharika Vasisht still remembers the day when she worked with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar during an ad shoot. Despite being one of the few Indian athletes marketing several top brands on social media — leveraging her nearly two lakh followers — the triple jumper is determined to stay focused on her career as she targets podium finishes at the next Asian and Commonwealth Games.
The Covid-19 enforced lockdown and an ACL tear on her right knee adversely hit the Chandigarh athlete's career but it has made the 28-year-old more confident and determined to chase suc cess. In her first meet of the season, after being on rehab last year, Niharika missed the bronze medal by just one centimetre.
Niharika with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar
"It's disappointing but I'm determined to do well," she told TOIhere. "If I get a chance I'd like to join the high performance centres like the ones run by Reliance or JSW."
The Covid-19 break hampered her athletics career but it made Niharika, whose family hails from Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, famous as a social media influencer.
It all began before the Tokyo Olympics when she featured in a television commercial for a detergent powder. "During the lockdown I had nothing to do and that was when I took to social media. I'm a big fan of Akshay Kumar and so it was a big moment for me to act in a TV commercial with him. I was shortlisted by the director after he saw my videos," Vashisht said.
Niharika with her father Ram Kumar Vashisht
"That advertisement gave me a lot of visibility. More offers came my way but I decided not to take them as athletics is my first love and I want to stay focussed on it," she added.
