HYDERABAD : At 21, Jyothi Surekha Vennam already seems to have hit the bull’s eye. The Andhra Pradesh government announced `1 Crore incentive, a house site and Group I job in Amaravati, the state’s new capital. However, she says that winning at archery is what makes her happy. She won two bronze medals at the 2011 Asian Archery Championship in Tehran, and has bagged 70 medals in national and international competitions. The Government of India awarded her the Arjuna Award in 2017 for her achievement in archery. She is the youngest to receive this award in South India. A week ago, she was recognised as the “Pride of Andhra” at the Zee Telugu’s Apsara Awards 2018 in Hyderabad.
Jyothi is currently pursuing her MBA in KL University, Vijayawada. She hails from Challapalli Mandal of Vijayawada and has a natural flair for archery. In a chat with Hyderabad Express, she confesses that she has no personal inspirations. “I don’t really like the idea of having an inspiration as I was someone else and ended up being someone else” she said, about turning to archery one fine day in her pre-teens. It was during her school days that J Rama Rao, her first coach, sparked off an interesting in her for archery.
She earlier was into swimming since she was 3, and then shifted to archery and continued practising after school hours. Recalling her memories, she was indeed thankful to her countable friends who helped her prepare for her exams at the last minute. Archer Surekha has no siblings, and probably that’s why she says her father, a farmer, and her mother is a homemaker, managed to give her complete attention and helped her do whatever she was fond of archery became her passion since she was 11, and there is no holding her back since then.
When asked what her favourite city was, she excitedly said “Antalya, in Turkey. I visit that place almost every year for tournaments. I really love its beaches!” Like every other youngester, Jyothi is a social media buff although she maintains private Instagram and Facebook profiles.
Surekha says that her parents played an important role in her career and encouraged her during ups and downs. She believes that archery builds concentration, hand-eye concentration and mental toughness. Hence her fitness regime includes dumbbell rows and forearm planks for muscle power. Stereo-acuity and ocular alignment are necessary for an archer’s assessment in sports vision. An avid movie watcher, Surekha is also passionate about reading. She prefers reading non-fiction and biographies in her free time.
She also has a message to all the youngsters and fighters, just like her. “If you want to do it, give your 100%. Focus and build confidence in yourself. Make a decision. Never regret it and enjoy whatever you do.”
