Jaipur, Nov 28 : Anshika Kumari shot a terrible second set in the womenâ??s recurve final against Srishti Jaiswal in the Khelo India University Games Rajasthan 2025. Such shooting will normally disturb the confidence level of any archer. But the 23-year-old representing Lovely Professional University did not let the smile on her face vanish as she conversed with the coaches and focused on positive self-talk to win the next two sets rather easily to clinch the gold medal.

This approach not only helped Anshika turn things around in that final but has also been instrumental in changing the trajectory of her archery career in 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 and having to shoot one arrow at a time and laugh off the stress away. This is what I did in the final today,â?? Anshika told SAI Media.

Explaining what went wrong in the second set, the SAI NCEO trainee said she could not understand where her arrow was landing on the target as 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 am happy that I won," said Anshika, who originally hails from Bihar but has lived across the country as her father works with the Indian Navy.

But this calmness took time to come, as Anshika struggled to cope with her own expectations, having made an immediate impact after taking up the sport in school in Mumbai.

Soon after taking up the sport, Anshika became the first archer from Kendriya Vidyalaya to win gold in the School Games Federation of India nationals. Determined to pursue the sport, the youngster gave trials at the SAIL Academy in Jharkhand and then started training there.

Though she was consistent enough to get selected in SAI Kolkata in a few years, the national team spot kept eluding her. But things have definitely turned for the better this year.

â??I learned from all my failures and used every lost match as a learning lesson to improve my technique for the next one," said Anshika, who participated in all three World Cups this year.

She adopted the same approach in Jaipur on Thursday when she performed below par in the mixed team event immediately after the individual final and missed the gold medal. But she worked on her draw technique and helped Lovely Professional University win the Recurve Team gold to sign off.

Anshika, fresh off her Khelo India Zonal Open victory, is now aiming to sustain her momentum in 2026, with securing a spot on the Indian team for the Asian Games as her top priority.

/IANS