Vidarsa Vinod becomes first woman shooter from Keralam to win medal at Asian Games

KOZHIKODE: Vidarsa K Vinod has become the first female sportsperson from Keralam to win a medal in a shooting event by securing silver in the women's 10 meter air rifle team event at the 20th Asian Games being held in Japan.

This was Vinod's first Asian Games, where she is also competing in the women's 50m rifle 3 Positions event.

Speaking to a TV channel, she said she was very happy to have won a medal at her first Asian Games.

“There are very few people from Keralam in this sport, and I am happy to be the first woman from the state to win a medal in shooting,” she said.

Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan congratulated Vinod on her achievement during a video call, visuals of which were shared on his Facebook page.

During the call, he told her that everyone was “happy and proud” of her achievement.

In a post accompanying the video, the CM said Vinod had achieved the rare distinction of being the first shooter from the state to win a medal at the Asian Games.

“We wish Vidarsa, who has made the nation proud through her hard work and determination, continued success in scaling new heights in the future. She is an asset for Keralam and the state will extend its full support and assistance to her,” he said.

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Pinarayi Vijayan and BJP Keralam chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar also congratulated Vinod on her achievement.

Vijayan, in a Facebook post, said he had called her personally to congratulate her.

“Vidarsa made Keralam proud by performing well in the women's 10m air rifle team, which won the first medal for India in this Asian Games,” he said in his post.

He hoped that the achievement would inspire her to realise her dream of winning an Olympic medal for India.

“May Vidarsa and her teammates, who made the country proud, be able to scale greater heights in the field of sports,” he said.

Chandrasekhar, in an X post, described the achievement as a “historic first” for Keralam and congratulated Vidarsa and her teammates.

“Vidarsa becomes the first woman from Keralam to win an Asian Games shooting medal - a remarkable achievement. Your hard work, determination and performance on the international stage are an inspiration to young athletes across Keralam. Congratulations to the entire team,” he said.

State Sports Minister O J Janeesh, earlier in the day, said the government would take care of those who win medals for the nation at the Asian Games.

He said the government intended to take steps to provide jobs, in accordance with their eligibility, to such sportspersons.

Vinod, who got married a year-and-a-half ago, said she began training soon after her wedding and started taking part in international events. As a result, she and her husband could not spend much time together.

She said she started shooting in 2018 as part of the National Cadet Corps and chose it as her profession the following year.

She said most of her training takes place in New Delhi.

Vinod said the support of her parents, husband, other family members and her coach had helped her win a silver medal at the Asian Games.

“Without any of their support, I could not have achieved this,” she said.

Her mother, speaking to a TV channel here, said she could not find the words to express her happiness.

“I am proud of her achievement,” she said.

Her father said he hoped she would win gold in her main event.

Vinod said the win had given her more energy to prepare for her main event, the women's 50m rifle 3 Positions, which is scheduled for September 26.

She welcomed the recent cash prizes announced by the state government for Asian Games medallists and said they were a huge motivation.

“Prior to this, our sportspersons had not received any such cash prize from the government. So, this support gives us energy to perform,” she said.

The Keralam government had earlier this month announced cash rewards of Rs 50 lakh for state athletes winning gold medals at the Asian Games, Rs 30 lakh for silver and Rs 20 lakh for bronze.