Jyoti Kumari, popularly known as ‘Flexible girl’ in Wushu’s Taulo event, the first girl from Jharkhand who bagged a bronze medal at the 7th Asian Junior Wushu championship at Manila, Philippines held from August 6 to 13.
Her attachment with Wushu meaning Chinese Martial Arts since the age of four and half years, practicing without mat and equipments at her native place Khalari, around 56 kilometers from Ranchi narrates the inspiring journey of a small town girl in marking her international recognition for consecutively four times but this time its bronze medal.
You bagged a bronze medal at the individual Taulo event. Then, how did you miss to grab a medal at the dual Taulo event in this Asian level wushu tournamentIJ
I secured the fourth position in the dual Taulo event as it was for the first time I got the scope to play at this round. I might have made mistakes.
Being a 16 year girl and pursuing standard 12th with Science background, how do you manage your studies and dedication for WushuIJ
I manage both with the motivation cum moral support of my mother Suchita Bahadur and father Dilraj Bahadur, DAV Khalari school fraternity, my two wushu playing brothers and through my coaches Razi Ahmad along with N Pradip Singh.
Playing at World Championships and Asian Continent level, what exactly did you learn from the foreign wushu playersIJ
Their basics, stamina recovering tips and techniques is far better than ours. They maintain the degree and different technicalities of Taulo performance.
Prior to this continent championship, you were trained at the Bhopal National Camp for only three months. Did you find any difficulty to grasp the enthusiasm compared to other Indian players accompanying youIJ
Yes, I did. Our team won one silver and five Bronze medals wherein most of my fellow mates were from Madhya Pradesh and Manipur. They all have undergone one year national camp but I had the fortune for only three months training. There was constant fear that whether I will be able to mark my own presence or not.
Where do you see your futureIJ
Winning a Gold Medal at the Olympics on behalf of India. I want to feel the ‘Being Indian’ spirit at this achievement where our anthem is played loudly.
Who is your inspirationIJ
My parents who always treat me as their second son. Then, there is my National level Taulo medallist elder Brother Deepak Bahadur under whom I got the scope to learn the sport with my Coach Razi Ahmad. I am grateful to my younger brother Sameer who too joined our game and seeks to bag a medal like us. Entire Jharkhand Wushu Association is also a thankful platform.
Would you like something from the GovernmentIJ
Please provide mat for practice and required wushu equipments as there is no dearth of our talent among our wushu players.