Indian sabre star Shreya Gupta
Shreya Gupta is still in her initial stages of her senior career, but the Sabre fencer already has set her sights on representing the country at the Olympics. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychology simultaneously and feels it gives her an edge in her matches. The 21-year-old from Jammu calls defeating a Chinese fencer and senior World Championships medallist 5-4 in the initial rounds as a breakthrough moment of her growing career. The Asian Fencing Championship also gave her a special moment as her parents cheered for her for the first time at a major home event. Edited excerpts: Having your parents in the stands during the Asian Fencing Championship, did it add pressure or make things easier? Honestly, when I’m fencing, I’m completely focused on the piste, so it doesn’t really matter during the bout. But it was definitely a proud moment to have my parents watching me compete. Talk us through your bouts. What worked for you until the Round of 32, and what didn’t? In the pool stage, I fenced …
