Vidarsa Vinod shares journey from nearly quitting shooting to making India's Asian Games squad

Vidarsa Vinod from Kozhikode has been selected for the 10m Air Rifle and 50m Rifle 3 Positions in the upcoming Asian Games 2026  in Aichi-Nagoya. However, her journey that began with an NCC rifle wasn’t straightforward, as financial difficulties and time away from home only made it more difficult. On top of that, self-doubt crept in when things got worse for the 27-year-old athlete.

Notably,

. At the time, her ambitions were limited to exploring the sport and possibly finding a route towards a government job. Coming from a middle-class family, she trained with borrowed equipment because the cost of competitive shooting was difficult for her family to manage.

Her career changed after a conversation with fellow shooter Manu S Ravi, whom she later married. Manu, now a shooting coach in Kerala, encouraged her to invest in her own equipment after noticing her commitment to the sport.

“He simply asked me, ‘Why don’t you own a rifle?’ At first, I laughed because buying one wasn’t financially possible for us. But he made me realise that if I truly believed in my dream, I had to take that step. That conversation gave me the courage to speak to my parents, and together we decided to invest in my future,” Vidarsa recalled.

The family eventually took a loan in 2021 to purchase her first rifle. With Manu’s encouragement and coach Manoj Kumar’s guidance, her performances improved and she won her first national medal in 2022. She later moved to Delhi to train at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range. The decision meant living alone, handling household responsibilities and managing demanding double-session training while Manu returned to Kerala.

“Living alone in Delhi wasn’t easy. I had to cook for myself, manage everything on my own and continue training every day. There were moments when it became physically and mentally exhausting, but I knew these sacrifices were necessary if I wanted to represent India,” Vidarsa said.

Early 2024 brought another setback, with financial pressure and repeated near-misses leaving her close to abandoning shooting. “I had almost decided to quit. My family, my husband, and my coach had sacrificed so much, and I felt guilty. But they never stopped believing in me, even when I was losing belief in myself,” she said.

Later that year, she earned a place at the Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence. The support there covered equipment, nutrition and facilities. She subsequently won her first international medal at the 2025 Asian Shooting Championship, helping secure her place in the Asian Games squad.

“I don’t compete against other shooters; I compete against myself. My biggest dream is to become World No. 1. I want to discover my full potential and keep improving every time I step onto the range,” Vidarsa said.