The 21 year old archer, Deepika Kumari, is the one everyone is rooting for. She is one of the best archer in the country. Born and brought up in Ranchi, she did not have an easy life. Here are some less known facts about this amazing sportswomen:
She was born in a financially ill family. Her father Shivnarayan Mahato is an auto-rickshaw driver and her mother Geeta Mahato is working as a nurse in Ranchi Medical College. Archery was never easy on their pockets and hence she had to fight for her passion while growing up. Her parents have been an amazing support system. They worked hard for her to get the best training possible. Hats off to such parents who want their girls to go ahead and make a place in this world.
At the age of 11, she entered the Arjun Archery Academy where she first met her passion, archery. Since then she is on a roll and there was no looking back after that.
She got her breakthrough in 2006 when she joined the Tata Academy. There she was paid an amount of Rs.500 for the time she would spend in the academy. Here she got to play with a proper kit as well as get coached at higher levels.
After three years of practice, just at the age of 15, she won the trainee World Championship title.A few years down the lane, she was travelling the world and making our country proud. She won a gold medal in Ogden.
She got worldwide recognition when she won two gold medals in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in India.
Every sports person sees some rough patch during their career. Deepika was disappointed when she failed in the London Olympics. But this did not break her. A little changes here and there, and Deepika found composure that helped her get back on track.
In 2015 she bagged a silver medal in the World Archery championship. In 2016 she was awarded with the Padma Sri, the most prestigious award.
Earlier this year she matched the World record of points by scoring a 686/720. This got her on top of the charts and into the Rio Olympics.
According to the World Archery Rankings, Deepika is ranked at number 7.
We at AAW wish her all the best for this Olympics. She is the best the country has to offer. Very proud that she got past all the obstacles and is making her dream come true.
