Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025: Odisha’s Rasmita Sahoo Rides To Gold, Eyes 2026 Asian Games

Life has a way of testing the strongest currents, and for Rasmita Sahoo, each wave shaped her into the champion she is today. The 23-year-old from Odisha glided to gold in the women’s 200-metre canoe singles at the Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025, crossing Dal Lake in 53.53 seconds, ahead of athletes from Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

But her victory wasn’t sudden, it was years in the making, carved quietly through patience, courage, and relentless dedication. And, It was all evident at the Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025.

Rasmita grew up beside water, in a small fishing community in Choudwar, Cuttack. Yet the waters of her childhood were mixed with sorrow. At nine, a road accident left her father critically injured, turning the family’s life upside down. Four years later, her mother met a similar fate, and the young Rasmita was left to navigate grief and uncertainty.

It was a friend, who swam with her in the Mahanadi River, who offered a lifeline. Enrolling at the Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence in Jagatpur, Odisha, she found a place where canoeing, kayaking, and rowing could become both a passion and a path to support her family.

"We didn’t think twice," she recalls softly. "I took the trial, got selected, and water became my teacher, my companion."

Her journey has been steady, flowing from one milestone to another. A silver and bronze at the National Games in Uttarakhand, a gold in Bhopal, and a career in the Odisha Police followed, giving her family stability and pride.

"From a shack and uncertain days, we now have comfort and hope," Rasmita says. “I am building a home for my family, one stroke at a time."

Her coach, Laishram Johanson Singh, has been her steady current. "I’ve supported her since 2020, from junior to senior levels. Her spirit is unshakable, and I believe she will bring home a medal at the 2026 Asian Games," he says.

Now, with eyes on Japan 2026, Rasmita trains in waters fast and wild, even where crocodiles lurk, yet moves forward with calm determination. Like the river she grew up in, she bends and flows, rises and falls, yet never stops.

From the Mahanadi to Dal Lake, Rasmita Sahoo has transformed life’s turbulence into a gentle, unstoppable force.