From being the youngest archer at the Wold Championship in Korea to constantly being number one at several senior and junior national meets, Jayalakshmi Sarikonda has been a shooting star.
Born in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, the 23-year-old was never interested in sports and least of all in archery, she says. “It was during a summer camp in school that I was introduced to several sports including archery. Initially, I felt the sport was rather draggy and one had to aimlessly stand in a place and keep shooting arrows. However, gradually I took it up as a challenge and discovered that I was good at it. In 2006, I participated in School-level Nationals in which I bagged the first prize.”
The other inspiration, for Jayalakshmi, is closer home, “The primary reason why I am in sports is my dad. My dad wanted to be a sportsperson, but my grandparents insisted on him doing engineering and getting a regular job, because of which he had to give up on his passion. In a way, my dad is living his dream through me. Also, I am from a Kshatriya background, which means archery was common among our ancestors,” she reveals.
On being asked how she manages to balance studies and archery, she admits that she had to eventually leave her school and join DAV Public School. “There were times when tournaments and exams would be scheduled at the same time. I would have to skip the exams and write supplementary papers later on,” the archer says. Although she had been riding a wave, she faced setbacks in 2012 and 2014.
She admits. “It was during this time that I went for a two-week training camp to Lancaster Archery Academy and then I was back on track.” She is preparing for the senior Nationals in Chennai in December and trials for World Championship trials in February.
Sachin Tendulkar is her idol, she says, adding that she is inspired by his never-say-die attitude. She reveals that it was at the Sahara awards that she had the opportunity to briefly meet him and he advised her to keep playing and never give up.
As archery is an expensive sport, Jayalakshmi says that a minimum of 2.5 to 3 lakhs is required every year — which she couldn’t have done without her sponsors, Indian Oil, AAI and Bharat Petroleum.
Reach Out: facebook.com/Jayalakshmisarikonda