Unbeatable – Labourer’s daughter Shikha dominates slalom course, wins kayak gold for Madhya Pradesh

Since her first national championship held at the beginning of 2019, Madhya Pradesh’s Shikha Chouhan has never lost a race in the kayak event of the canoeing slalom at the national circuit.

Maintaining her dominance, the 19-year-old clinched gold at her favorite slalom event in the 36th National Games held at Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad, on Sunday.

“It’s my first National Games and I am happy that I am able to win gold for my state,” said elated Shikha. “My father is a labourer and despite limited means he has always supported me, so that I could excel in the sport. Looking at the family’s financial constraints, there are times when I want to curtail my expenses on diet, sports shoes or kit, but my father has never said no to me. I will support my family with the cash incentive that I will get from the state government for winning gold in the National Games.”

Madhya Pradesh gives a cash award of Rs 5 lakh to the gold medal winner and silver and bronze will get Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively.

Shikha initially opted for swimming, but at the advice of coach Kuldeep she shifted to canoe slalom in November 2018.

“As my house in Indore is near a swimming pool, so initially I wanted to learn swimming. But after some time, Kuldeep sir told me that the slalom championship was taking place in February 2019, so I should give it a try. Before that I had no idea about the canoeing or kayaking sport, but thankfully I listened to the advice and the rest, as they say, is history,” said Shikha, who had represented the country in the Asian and World Championships.

“This year in July, I joined the state-run slalom academy in Maheswar – around 100 km from Indore. It’s a residential academy, so we get everything from boarding, lodging to top-class equipment support. Hopefully with this support, I will make the country proud in the next year’s Asian Games and my ultimate target is the Olympics.”