Jaipur, November 28: Anshika Kumari shot a terrible second set in the women’s recurve final against Srishti Jaiswal in the Khelo India University Games Rajasthan 2025. Such shooting would normally shake the confidence of any archer.
But the 23-year-old representing Lovely Professional University did not let the smile on her face fade. She spoke to her coaches, focused on positive self-talk, and bounced back strongly to win the next two sets comfortably and clinch the gold medal.
This composed approach not only helped Anshika turn things around in the final but has also been instrumental in reshaping the trajectory of her archery career over the last 12 months.
“There was a time when I used to laugh after every lost match, thinking even this one was not for me. What worst can happen? Let’s focus on the next one. At the end of the day, it's all about concentrating on the present, shooting one arrow at a time, and laughing off the stress. This is what I did in the final today,” Anshika told SAI Media.
Explaining what went wrong in the second set, the SAI NCEO trainee said she couldn’t understand where her arrows were landing because her coach did not have his telescope with him. “He got one after that set, but I just focused on my breathing and the next arrow, and I’m happy that I won,” said Anshika, who hails from Bihar but has lived across the country as her father serves in the Indian Navy.
But this level of calmness took years to develop. Anshika previously struggled with her own expectations after making an immediate impact upon taking up archery in school in Mumbai.
Soon after picking up the sport, Anshika became the first archer from Kendriya Vidyalaya to win gold at the School Games Federation of India nationals. Determined to pursue archery seriously, she gave trials at the SAIL Academy in Jharkhand and eventually began training there.
Though she was consistent enough to earn a place in SAI Kolkata within a few years, a national team spot kept eluding her. But 2024 has certainly marked a turning point.
“I learned from all my failures and used every lost match as a lesson to improve my technique for the next one,” said Anshika, who competed in all three Archery World Cups this year.
She applied the same mindset in Jaipur on Thursday when she underperformed in the mixed team event immediately after her individual final and missed out on gold. She reworked her draw technique and then helped Lovely Professional University win the Recurve Team gold before signing off.
Anshika, who recently won the Khelo India Zonal Open, is now focused on carrying this momentum into 2026, with a spot in the Indian team for the Asian Games at the top of her goals.