Being outdoors and playing sport is where I have felt alive and free. Growing up, I didn’t fit into the environment I was in, except when it came to sport. Track and field and swimming were the competitive sports I did during school and always had the desire to be an athlete.

At 15 due to anxiety, I lost a lot of weight and a lack of awareness of mental health led to me wrongly getting diagnosed as anorexic, and sport which was my breathing space was taken away as a protective measure. 

The love for sport however still grew and I continued working on my fitness even though I didn’t know what I was doing it for. It’s fun to see what you’re capable of!

At 27 I took a career break. I came across an old letter from my school principal saying, " if fate hadn’t intervened this girl would be representing India at the Olympics."

That changed something in me.

I went to watch a cycling race in Bangalore, it was an individual time trial, it bored me to watch it and I wanted to race the next one. 

Two months later I raced my first Cycling Nationals and came third in the Individual Time Trial. That was the deciding point for me that I would like to give this a try: to be the best in the country and beyond that. 

My family couldn’t understand it but they were with me.  

The journey to becoming the Double National Champ involved the high highs and the low lows: It was me being laser-focused on this goal that came at the cost of not having space for anything else in my life. 7 months of injuries and illness and still believing that you can achieve this goal, being away from my dog who was falling sick without me, heading out to train early in the dark and getting back home to an empty apartment day in and out, chronic fatigue which you are unaware of at that moment because of the drive within you and some beautiful relationships built on the way! 

I got to experience the childhood dream of being a competitive athlete and through it, I realized that it was just one chapter of my life, not the whole life. It’s okay to change carers even if you are good at something. There is so much that life offers if we are willing to let go of the limitations.

"Pehele padhayi baad mein khelo" - is what my mother said. Which translated to - become an architect first and then you can pursue sports. That explains why I took up jujitsu so late, at the age 25!

Anyone who knows me from school would know my love for sports, which took a backseat somewhere as I worked towards becoming an architect. I loved the work but there was something integral missing and it did take me a while to figure out what exactly!

I took up various activities such as yoga, cycling, and bike riding before picking up Jujitsu, I knew that I had found something special. I quit my job and joined another place close to my training center. I started competing and fell in love with the sport even more.

The biggest challenge was balancing between Jujitsu and architecture since I love them both, there are only so many hours in a day. I finally made the decision and went all in, dedicating myself to the Jujitsu Nationals which was also a selection camp for Asian Games 2018.

All these factors led me to start an architectural practice of my own. It's been two years now - I have with me the two things that I cherish, practicing this wonderful sport and architecture. I have finally struck a balance."