‘Calmness’ behind archer Aditi’s golden arrow

CHENNAI: At the SAI regional centre in Sonepat, where archer Aditi Swami practices her craft, there is a portrait of Khashaba, aka KD Jadhav.

“We visited the centre during Aditi’s trials recently. Not many people knew who the man was from the portrait. She told them he was Khashaba Jadhav. He won India the first medal in the Olympics. I am from the same district as him. Satara,” Gopichand Swami, Aditi’s father said proudly.

Coming from a place that prides itself on giving independent India its first medal, it’s unsurprising that the 17-year-old archer became the first Indian to bag a gold medal at the World Archery Championships.

Coming from a family where his father and grandfather were involved in wrestling, Gopichand always wanted his daughter to pick a sport. And he was more than happy when his daughter chose archery at the age of 11. “When she started in 5th standard, the bow and Aditi were of the same height (laughs). But her patience and persistence were unbelievable from the day she started. Looking at her determination, her coach gave me his word that she will win nationals one day. At that time, I hadn’t even seen the district-level medal, but I believed in his words,” Gopichand reminisced, a day after Aditi achieved the aforementioned feat.

Aditi’s first coach, Pravin Sawant, a ward boy turned police officer, will tell you that determination and calmness are what stuck with him the most.

“When I saw her for the first time, I was not sure if she would be able to pull it off, but she proved all my doubts wrong. From the day she started, she has been very calm. As you saw she was calm in her celebrations as well after winning the medal,” Sawant assessed.

That calmness was visible during the semifinal of the team event on Friday when strong winds threatened to blow away India’s chances in Berlin.