This triple jumper from Mohali believes in breaking stereotypes

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9

International triple jumper Niharika Vashisht, who always believes in breaking the stereotypes, be it in the field of sports or education, extended her flair to get featured in a commercial shoot for a national brand with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. The 25-year-old jumper from Mohali is a national medallist and had represented Panjab University at the International World University Games. She was part of the Indian squad for the 30th Summer Universiade (University) Games, scheduled to be held at Napoli in 2019. She is at present preparing for the 2022 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, but pulled off sometime from her busy schedule to try her hands in the field of entertainment.

Niharika said: “The casting agency of the ad film reached me through a social media platform. Three days later, I went to Mumbai and did the shoot. It was amazing to work with Akshay Kumar and more amazing to see myself on the screen. The commercial is aired on all major platforms.”

A graduate from GGDSD College, Sector 32, she has completed her Masters in English from DAV College, Sector 10. “I have been working extensively on the 2022 Asian Games, to be held in China, and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Though the lockdown has put me under lots of pressure, I have been training regularly on different modules. Later this year, I will be participating in other championships. The senior national championship is also scheduled to be held in Patiala this month. I hope to put up a good performance,” said Niharika. When asked about her plans on shifting her focus to modelling, she said: “There are no such plans. But I just want to set an example for others. Life gives many opportunities and one should always avail it,” said Niharika.