Khelo India Youth Games 2022: Shivani and Masuma exhibit steely nerves on way to winning silver in sprint canoe event

Toughened by the circumstances, the Madhya Pradesh duo of Shivani Verma and Masuma Yadav exhibited steely nerves to earn a podium finish in the women’s canoe sprint C-2 200 meter event at the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 in Bhopal on Thursday (February 2).

Despite finishing strongly, the Madhya Pradesh girls narrowly missed gold and settled for silver.

“It still hurts badly as it was our home course and we lost by a mere two seconds,” Shivani Verma, a class 12th student told Sportskeeda after the race.

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More about Shivani Verma and Masuma Yadav

Shivani Verma, daughter of a small-time farmer from the village of Siwar in Madhya Pradesh, took to water sports in 2018 and was quick to adapt to the vigor of training as she worked in fields to support her parents.

“She (Shivani) is a rough-tough village girl and has made good progress,” Pijush Baroi, Madhya Pradesh's kayaking and canoeing team coach, said. "We selected Shivani for the sports academy in Bhopal on the basis of her endurance in distance running."

In 2022, Shivani Verma was a member of the senior Indian team that won bronze at the continental sprint canoe championship in Thailand.

Shivani Verma is based out of Bhopal as she has to practice with other athletes from the Madhya Pradesh water sports academy, but whenever she goes back home, she doesn’t mind supporting her parents on the field.

Water sports events, including rowing, were introduced at the Khelo India Youth Games as host Madhya Pradesh has good facilities. Madhya Pradesh men’s team walked away with all four gold medals at stake on Wednesday (February 1), but had mixed luck on Thursday. Kerala, Odisha, Manipur, and Haryana are among other states competing in kayaking and canoeing events.

Masuma Yadav’s journey into the sports world was also inspiring. Her mother passed away when she was yet to break into her teens and was raised by her father, a daily wage worker.

“It is difficult to explain the hardships we have faced over the years,” Masuma Yadav said after winning the silver medal. “Circumstance have made me mentally strong and it feels easy to handle the pressure of competition.”

Masuma Yadav, who hails from Bhopal, took to water sports in 2019 and has excelled at the national level.

"Winning silver at the Khelo India Youth Games has given a big boost to the confidence of both Shivani Verma and Masuma Yadav as the duo get ready for the next week’s national selection trials in Bhopal for the Asian Sprint Canoe Championship scheduled to be held in May," the coach added.