When Vidarsa K Vinod first picked up a rifle through the National Cadet Corps (NCC) back in 2018, her goals were modest. Coming from Kerala’s Kozhikode district, the youngster simply wanted to experience the sport – and perhaps, down the line, leverage it into a secure government job.
Fast forward eight years, and the 27-year-old is set to represent India on one of the biggest stages in world sport: the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, competing in both the 10m Air Rifle and 50m Rifle 3 Positions events.
While her journey to the national squad is a testament to grit and sacrifice, its defining spark came from an unexpected place: a single, provocative question asked by fellow shooter – and now husband – Manu S Ravi.
MODEST BEGINNINGS IN KERALA
Growing up in a middle-class family where her father worked as a contractor and her mother as a homemaker, the eye-watering costs of competitive shooting meant Vidarsa spent her early years on borrowed equipment.
Even after becoming the aggregate champion at the Kerala State Championship, the dream of owning a professional rifle remained out of reach, until Manu entered the frame.
Meeting at the range after the COVID-19 pandemic, the two built a close bond as friends before eventually getting married. Today, Manu serves as a shooting coach in Kerala and remains Vidarsa’s closest confidant. But back when her career was idling, he posed the question that recalibrated her life.
“He simply asked me, ‘Why don’t you own a rifle?’” Vidarsa recalled. “At first, I laughed because buying one wasn’t financially possible for us. But he made me realise that if I truly believed in my dream, I had to take that step.”
That push gave Vidarsa the conviction to speak to her parents. In 2021, the family took out a loan to buy her first rifle, a high-stakes investment that proved to be the turning point of her career. Under Manu’s constant encouragement and guided by coach Manoj Kumar, her scores began to climb, leading to her first national medal in 2022.
SWITCHING TO FULL-TIME SHOOTING
Belief, however, had to be matched by endurance. To elevate her game, Vidarsa took the tough decision to leave Kerala for New Delhi’s Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, entering a high-intensity training environment while Manu returned to Kerala to coach.
Living alone in a unfamiliar city, unable to speak Hindi, Vidarsa managed cooking, chores, and grueling double-session practice schedules by herself.
“Living alone in Delhi wasn’t easy,” she admitted. “There were moments when it became physically and mentally exhausting, but I knew these sacrifices were necessary if I wanted to represent India.”
The strain peaked in early 2024. Plagued by near-misses and mounting financial pressure, Vidarsa was on the verge of walking away from the sport altogether.
“I had almost decided to quit. My family, my husband, and my coach had sacrificed so much, and I felt guilty,” she said. “But they never stopped believing in me, even when I was losing belief in myself.”
ROAD TO ASIAN GAMES
That faith paid off later that year when Vidarsa secured a spot in the Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence (NCOE). With equipment, nutrition, and world-class facilities covered, the off-range anxieties vanished.
Relieved of financial burden and backed by transparent selection systems from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), Vidarsa’s game hit a new level. She clinched her maiden international medal at the 2025 Asian Shooting Championship, paving her path to the Asian Games roster.
As she prepares to share the range with India’s elite shooters in Aichi-Nagoya, Vidarsa remains grounded in the process that brought her here, and the support network that refused to let her quit.
“I don’t compete against other shooters; I compete against myself,” she said. “My biggest dream is to become World No. 1. I want to discover my full potential and keep improving every time I step onto the range.”
– Ends
