Ankita Bhakat — the name is synonymous with calm, composure and grit in the Indian archery circle. Hard work and perseverance have defined her career, and when the India women’s recurve team won gold in Shanghai, on May 10, the Calcutta archer’s joy knew no bounds.
The Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita and teenager Kumkum Mohod held their nerve in a tense shoot-off to beat home favourites China to clinch gold at the Archery World Cup Stage 2.
Ankita, who will always rue missing out on an Olympic medal in the mixed team event at Paris 2024 after losing to the US in the bronze-medal match, hailed the Shanghai victory as “special.”. “The gold in Shanghai was special,” Ankita told The Telegraph.“It had been a long time since the team won a gold medal.”
With the Asian Games coming up this September in Japan (Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya) Japan, Ankita believes India have a fair chance of finishing on the podium.
“There is always a chance of winning a medal. The rest depends on our hard work and the situation on that particular day,” she said.
At the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, India topped the archery tally, winning nine medals (five gold, two each of silver and bronze).
Asked whether losing out on a medal at the Paris Olympics still haunts her, Ankita said: “Yes, losing the bronze medal was very painful. After coming so far, losing at that stage hurts a lot. But we are using that as motivation.”
Talking about her journey at the beginning of her career, when she trained at the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur, she said: “If Tata Archery Academy wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be here today... I got proper recovery support and so much guidance. My coach Purnima Mahato helped me a lot then.”
This year is a busy one for Ankita. “We have the World Cup, followed by the Asian Games. Our main focus at the moment is the Asian Games. After that, we will prepare for the Olympics (Los Angeles 2028) and work hard to secure the quota place,” she added.
Ankita took up the sport at the tender age of 10. “In Calcutta, I only knew about Dola Banerjee. There was an archery ground near my house in Calcutta and that’s how I became interested in the sport.”
Ankita spoke highly of the Archery Premier League (APL), a franchise-based archery league backed by the Archery Association of India.
“The APL has helped me a lot to develop. I got the chance to shoot alongside foreign players on the same team.
“In the APL we have 15-second timing. That helped me become more confident. In the World Cup, with 20 seconds on the clock, I found it easier as I had got used to shooting in 15 seconds. I felt much more comfortable with 20 seconds. It helped my timing a lot.”
