Khelo India scholarship inspires TN police Superintendent's son Sarvesh Smaran to prioritise archery

Bhagalpur, May 6 (IANS) Tamil Nadu recurve archer Sarvesh Smaran’s decision to move from the comfort of his home to the National Centre of Excellence, Sonipat, is paying him dividends, but he is keen to learn from his mistakes in the earlier two competitions and go on to win the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Bihar gold medal at the Sandy’s Compound here.

Sarvesh said he was hopeful of not repeating the mistakes he committed in his last two competitions at home, the National Championships and the National Games. “I didn’t perform well in the ranking round, so I played with a different mindset. I played with all my heart. I am hopeful to return with a gold from the final,” he said.

Sarvesh, whose mother is a Superintendent of Police in Tamil Nadu, will compete with Maharashtra’s Ujjwal Bharat Olekar in the final on Thursday.

“I want to win a medal in the Youth Archery World Championship in Canada this August. I will have to do well in the national trial in Pune on May 22. I aim to return as champion from Pune. But right now my focus is on the Khelo India final and I want to clinch a medal here before I think of the trial.”

Sarvesh, 16, has already competed in a couple of international tournaments till now. He came fourth on debut in the Youth International Championship in Taipei in September 2024. Thereafter, he competed in the Archery Asia Cup Stage 1 in Bangkok in February.

“My mother wanted me to take up shooting as a sport when I was five years old. But you need to be at least 8 to start. Since my mother felt that I should take up precision sport, she motivated me to take up Archery as it looked very similar to shooting. So, I began practising archery then,” Sarvesh said.

Sarvesh is a beneficiary of the Khelo India Scheme, which provides Rs 10,000 each month as a scholarship. He also receives support from the Government of Tamil Nadu and a private foundation. “Sports Authority of India and Archery Association of India are providing us full support. I became more focused after being chosen under the scheme,” he said.

--IANS

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