“My family couldn’t afford it” - From not being able to afford a bow to now eyeing an Olympics 2024 berth - the inspiring journey of Komalika Bari

Komalika Bari, a two-time World Youth Archery Championship gold medalist, is eyeing a spot at the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. Hailing from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, this 22-year-old archer was recently named in the provisional women’s recurve squad for the Olympics. However, the team has yet to secure their position for Paris.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Komalika shared insights into her remarkable journey, shedding light on the challenges she faced, her shift to recurve archery and the crucial role her family played in shaping her career.

Q: How did you get into the sport? Can you tell us about your journey?

Komalika Bari: Actually, I didn't know that there was a game called archery. In 2012, a training center was started at our place. There were only four sports: football, basketball, volleyball, and archery. My mom didn't know that archery was a sport either. But when she saw it, she liked it. So, she asked me to take up this sport. My mom had a basic idea about archery since it is an ancient Indian sport but didn’t know more. Since she couldn't do it when she was young, she wanted me to take it up.

I started training at the center in 2012. I just took it up as an extra activity. But in 2013, I played the national games. I felt very good and could do better by taking it further. If I worked hard, then I would also have my medal. In those national games, I won a medal in the team event. After that medal, I wanted to win an individual medal. So that's why we continued ahead.

Q: How did you take up recurve archery?

Komalika Bari: I used to use a bamboo bow initially. I always wanted to play Recurve. But my family couldn’t afford it. So, after those national games, my target was to be admitted to the Tata Archery Academy. If I got admission there, I would have gotten Recurve for free. And I could also play in national and international tournaments.

Q: What are the challenges you have faced in your career so far?

Komalika Bari: The challenges were only in the initial period. We couldn't buy the bow ourselves. So, we couldn't take up recurve archery. So, for that challenge, I made myself very strong. After joining the Tata Archery Academy, half of my work was done. If you are getting good equipment, a good diet, good coaches, and a good field to practice on, you just have to work harder. Half or 50% of your work is done. So that was very good. Then I continued to do well; I played nationals and internationals.

Later, it took a lot of time to recover from the downfall. At that time, the support of the coaches was very much needed, which I got. The support of the psychologists, which we got through my sponsors, also helped a lot.

Q: How has your family supported you in your journey?

Komalika Bari: My family supported me from the very beginning. There was a situation before I joined the Tata Archery Academy. So, the situation was that if I didn't join the academy, I would have to take a break from archery.

I was not a renowned archer at that time and hence there was no second thought to it. The only thought was that we had to enter the academy at any cost. Then no one would pressure me. My father also said the same thing. If you enter the academy, we will not force you to do anything. If it doesn't happen, then you have to study.

So, we were clear on our own. Everything depended on that trial. And as soon as my selection was done, my father agreed to it. He said, Okay, we won't pressure you. You can play the game comfortably. So, this was a good thing.