From remote village to Youth Games podium: Ashakiran's brave run

WHEN the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, like other countries, India went under a lockdown in March 2020.

- KALYANI MANGALE

All the recreational activities were closed, including sports. At that time, Ashakiran Barla, the silver medalist at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, was training at the Jharkhand State Sports Promotion Society. With the academy closing, she had to go home. At home, with all the lockdown restrictions, she could not continue her practice. Frustrated with this situation, her coach, Ashu Bhatia, decided to bring her to his home in Bokaro.

Not knowing when she would get the opportunity to compete, Bhatia decided to keep the practice going, and there were no complaints from his pupil. "I stayed with Bhatia sir at his place in October 2022," Barla told this daily. "We used to practice in the middle of the night, from 2 till 6 in the morning," she added.