Jyothi Sureka focused on consistency after double bronze at Worlds

Jyothi Surekha has won two bronze medals at the 50th World Archery Championship.

Jyothi Surekha has become the first Indian woman to win an individual medal in the compound category in World Championships.

The long wait for V. Jyothi Surekha continues! Well, not out there in the arena where she seems to have developed a medal-winning habit - winning a stunning 31 international medals in 37 events so far and of the eight India won in the World championship, this Vijayawada girl won three.

But, far away from chasing the targets with her bow and arow, Surekha is still quietly waiting for a positive response from the Andhra Pradesh Government, without making any noise, in terms of getting the much-publicised 1000-square yard house plot promised by it after her Arjuna Award two years ago.

“Frankly, these thoughts don’t flash across my mind once I got out there to compete with the best. And, for the moment I want to bask in the glory of being the first Indian woman to win an individual medal (compound category) and another in the team event the Worlds on Saturday,” Surekha informs Sportstar from The Netherlands on Sunday.

Read: World Archery decision on AAI fate to be announced Monday

Significantly, the 22-year-old Surekha, whose first international medal was in 2011 (bronze in the Asian championship), is not even inclined to speak on the crisis in the national federation with two separate bodies getting elected.

“Well, if you start thinking about those things, you will not be able to perform. So, I am least concerned. My job is to perform and the pride of winning laurels for the country takes precedence to everything else for me,” says the modest Surekha.

And, quite naturally the archer’s family takes pride from the fact that she hails from Vijayawada where she had to train on the space allotted to her as a goodwill gesture by Gokaraju Gangaraju, former BCCI vice-president at the now-State capital, Amaravati, and still go on to win medals.

“Yes, efforts are on to get compound category included in Olympics and hope one day I will be there and come back with a medal there too as consistency is what I am striving for in the coming events,” signs off a confident Surekha as she sets sight on her next big event - the World Cup in Berlin next month.