NAGOYA: The world is still a blur for her. For someone who started shooting while in National Cadet Core in 2018, the journey had been surreal. After winning the team silver on Sunday, rifle shooter Vidarsa Vinod, who was making her debut in the ongoing Asian Games, was quivering with excitement. The medal ceremony, the shooting competition, the medal all seemed part of a beautiful dream for her – just like the picturesque highlands of Toyota.
Vidarsa garnered a respectable 630.4 to finish 12th (out of 55 shooters) in the women's 10m air rifle event on the day. Her effort helped the team, also comprising Elavenil Valarivan and Sonam Maskar, fetch silver.
For someone who took part in her first competition just last year, it has been a fairytale journey for Vidarsa. But it was not easy for a girl from Kozhikode district making it to the India team, let alone win a medal.
She got introduced to the sport during her National Cadet Core (NCC) days in Kozhikode and she hasn't looked back since. "I was attracted to the sport," she said, never believing that she would be standing on the podium on Sunday.
After her short stint in NCC shooting, she got a message that there was a shooting competition. "It so happened that I turned out to be the best shooter," she told this reporter after the medal. "I realised that shooting is something I can pursue." However, coming from a middle class family, it was not easy to pursue shooting as a profession. "I got selected for the state and even competed in nationals. Again, I thought I can continue."
"I went to the rifle association in Kozhikode to get a membership and that's how I started," she said, adding that she started training at the Kozhikode association facility before shifting to Karni Singh Shooting range under national coach Manoj Kumar, who has been a big support for her so far. "He is the main reason behind my success."
Though it was not easy for her to continue her training because of the cost, she continued with borrowed guns. "Some days, it was very difficult for me to even realise that I am into the sport," she said. "The demand is very high and one needs to be financially very strong. I even remember that I didn't even have enough money to purchase my daily needs. But my parents were always there."
If parents supported her, Vidarsa’s husband Manu SV has been wind beneath her wings. "We met in 2021 right after Covid and he is the person who realised that I can do better," she said.
It was Manu who motivated her to get a personal rifle. Initially, the two were friends before they got married. Manu is now a coach. "One day, he told me that I was ranked No 1 in all three events in the state and I was a professional shooter. 'If you are a professional shooter, you need a personal gun'," she recollected, and after speaking with her parents, she got her first persona gun four years ago.
"Even at that moment, I did not think I would be here at the Asian Games, leave alone the medal," she said. It took almost eight years since she touched a gun and turn into an Asian Games medallist.
