Jammu and Kashmir fencer Shreya Gupta said that her parents put her in the sport after getting fed up with her mischiefs. She made her debut at the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games in Madhya Pradesh.
New Delhi ,UPDATED: Feb 8, 2023 17:37 IST
Jammu and Kashmir’s fencer Shreya Gupta credits parents for success. (Photo: Khelo India)
By India Today Web Desk: Jammu and Kashmir’s TOPS development fencer Shreya Gupta revealed that her parents put her into the sport after getting fed up with her mischiefs.
Gupta, who first started with Taekwondo, went to watch fencing with her brother and did not look back since then. She made her debut at the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games in Madhya Pradesh and went on to bag gold medal in the Saber event.
“Being a TOPS development athlete, everyone was expecting a gold from me. I am happy with my performance but the match was very close,” Shreya said.
The J&K athlete has won three bronze medals in international events so far. Additionally, she has clinched 15 gold, 4 silver and 8 bronze medals in national events. She has also won 12 gold and three silver for the state.
The Sher-e-Kashmir Sports Awardee Shreya has been the Junior (U19) National Fencing champion twice and Cadet (U17) National Fencing champion for five consecutive years. Shreya won a bronze medal in the team event in the National Games held in Gujarat last year.
Talking about her journey, she said: “I was a very mischievous child in my childhood. I had a lot of energy. My father Sanjay Gupta, who is an architect, got me into sports to channelize my energy in a better way. I started going to Taekwondo. I fell in love with it and in about four years I won many awards.
“My brother, who now works in a private bank, used to do fencing. I went to watch fencing with him one day. I liked this game. Since childhood, I loved to look like a ‘warrior’, act on stage and feel things differently. I personally liked fencing because of its special uniforms, masks and warrior-like-training and that attracted me a lot. After this, in 2013, I started going to MA Stadium in Jammu to further my fencing training.”
Shreya lost the final of the Senior Fencing Nationals to Bhavani Devi, India’s first and only female Olympic fencer, in Amritsar in February 2022. Shreya said that she has got to learn a lot from Bhavani.
“Bhavani didi has always inspired me. When we were in Hungary for an exposure tour, she told me about the struggles she faced in her early years and how she overcame them. I have always been inspired by her words,” said Shreya, adding, “My long term goal is to win a medal for India in the 2028 Olympics. Before that, I want to play in the Asian Games this year and win a medal.”
