Shriya Lohia, meet India’s first female F4 racer

New Delhi: Shriya Lohia from Himachal Pradesh, became India’s first female and youngest F4 racer, challenging the male dominated field.

At the age of just nine years old, Shriya discovered her passion for racing during a family trip where she tried go-karting for the first time. She liked the thrill, which the race gave her. The more she drove, the more she wanted to do it.

Now, at the age of 16, she’s India’s first woman in formula 4 racing. She started her formal training under the guidance of renowned racer Mira Erda in Vadodara.

Shriya belonged to the family of sports enthusiasts, her father was a sports enthusiast, her sister was a shooter and her mother was an entrepreneur. Coming from a business cum sports family. Shriya faced the challenges of being a first-generation racer in the family. She balanced her academics and racing demands with full swings, while dealing with the hurdles of competing in a male-dominated sports.

Initially she faced a lot of bullying and derogatory marks, yet she turned these challenges into motivation and proved everyone wrong.

At the age of 11, Shriya won JK Tyre National Karting Championship in 2019, later on she received the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award in 2022, which motivated her to move further in motorsports and has inspired more women to join the sport.

Shriya’s journey from young karting enthusiast to a leading F4 racer shows her resilience and strength in male dominated motorsports field, challenging every rule and norms.