NAGOYA: Chikitha T was in a tearing hurry after winning the compound women’s team gold at the Okazaki sports park near Nagoya on Wednesday. She went to prepare for the mixed final with Sahil Jadhav.
After the second gold she came to the mixed zone. She looked zoned out and aloof. “She is like this, looks a bit lost and disinterested,” said coach Jewanjot Singh Teja. “It is good for archery as she remains focused on the sport.”
Just before the Asian Games, things were not as expected for Chikitha. She was going through a rough patch and had to seek mental help. Meditation and breathing exercises twice a day became her potion. Slowly, she grew in strength and here, she is a double gold medallist.
The 21-year-old from Sultanpur dabbled with other sports before concentrating on archery. Her father wanted her to emulate Saina Nehwal but because of her height she gave up. She started karate soon after and had a black belt as well. It was not until 2018 that she started archery. She was pursuing the sport in paddy stacks. That was during Dussehra holidays when her father’s younger brother bought a Recurve bow for her.
“I was in school and we don't know much about anything. My father helped me to get into archery. Abhishek Verma is my inspiration. Then I met Sayed Bhaiya and trained for five days for selection and got selected,” she said.
She will be back in from Thursday in individual events. She spoke about how she had to rush but got time to prepare for the mixed final. It is not easy to control emotions after one gold but Chithika did just that. “I was not thinking about all those things (final), I was just thinking like in the team matches how I was shooting and how I can do better in the next matches,” she said.
“In the last two-three camps, I was struggling a lot. Even before the Asian Games’ second camp. From there to here, it's like even I can't believe it. She helped me a lot, and each and every team member helped me a lot, encouraged me and supported me.”
Chikitha is happy with her effort but the job is half done. She is preparing to win an individual medal next.
