A School Programme, an Asiad Gold and Virat Kohli’s 18-Year Lesson: Kirti Sharma’s Journey

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Hailing from Haryana’s Jind district, 19-year-old Kirti Sharma found herself part of a historic moment at the Okazaki Chugo Suo Park Multipurpose Arena. Alongside Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Mohod, Kirti helped Indiaan women’s recurve team defeat archery heavyweights South Korea 5-3 to claim the gold medal.

Her journey into archery, however, began rather casually.

While studying at SS Convent School, Kirti briefly tried athletics. But when the school introduced an archery programme, she was immediately drawn to it.

“I saw some children shooting with the Indian bow and arrow, and I just felt like trying it myself,” she said.

Kirti comes from a modest family. Her father is a farmer and her mother is a homemaker. Financial limitations, however, never stopped her parents from supporting her ambitions.

“Whenever I needed something, my parents always did their best to get it for me,” she said. “We are not financially very well-off, but they never let me feel that. They never told me how they managed things, but somehow, whatever I needed, they made sure I had it.”

After spending a year with Indian archery, Kirti switched to recurve at her school academy. Her performances eventually earned her a place at the SAI SST Hissar Academy, where she has been training for the last four years. She has also recently joined the Border Security Force (BSF).

For a 19-year-old competing at her first Asian Games, the occasion was naturally overwhelming.

“This was only my second international medal and my first Asian Games, so winning gold here feels really surreal,” she said.

The conditions added another layer to the challenge. It was a bright and windy morning at the venue, with strong gusts even turning some umbrellas inside out. For archers, changing wind conditions can make an already demanding sport even more difficult.

“Yes, it was windy and definitely challenging, but when we came here this morning, our mindset was simple — we were not going to give up, whatever the weather conditions,” Kirti said.

Since the beginning of her journey, Dhiraj Bommadevara has been one of her biggest inspirations.

“Even before I started taking archery seriously, I used to watch Dhiraj bhaiya’s videos,” she said. “I have learnt a lot from him, and he has always been an inspiration for me.”

Her sporting inspiration, however, is not limited to archery. Kirti is also a keen cricket follower, with Virat Kohli occupying a special place among her sporting idols.

What she admires most about Kohli is his ability to remain patient through pressure and setbacks. She pointed to Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden IPL title after an 18-year wait as an example.

“Virat Kohli is my inspiration, especially because I have learnt a lot about patience from him,” she said. “Just imagine, he had to wait 18 years to win that trophy. We sometimes become demotivated if we don’t achieve something in two or three years, but he kept trying for 18 years and eventually it happened.”

“He had even reached the finals before and lost, but he still kept going,” she continued. “He knew that one day it would happen, and finally, after 18 years, it did.”

“I learn a lot about sport and dealing with setbacks from him,” she added.

At 19, Kirti already has an Asian Games gold medal to her name. But for the young archer from Jind, the journey that began with watching children shoot arrows at her school has only just gathered momentum.

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