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.
"The match was literally against the wind," Aditi later told World Archery. Sawant had prepared the young gun for that as well. "When it comes to practice for the windy conditions, we have a facility near Sajjangad. The other academy from there, Dnyaneshwari Institute, helps us out with this kind of practice. Because Sajjangad is near Kas Plateau that gives us a lot of variation of winds. We have organised many camps there, just so our students can get accommodated with those conditions," Sawant added.
The semifinal success helped India get closer to the gold medal. The next day, the team of Aditi, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, and Parneet Kaur created history with the first-ever gold medal. Aditi's family was in the seventh heaven in Satara, especially her younger brother, Aditya. "He has also picked up archery, so he knows the nooks and crannies of the game. We were delighted when she won, but he was the happiest one for his didi and kept explaining the details. Only athletes can understand what other athlete goes through, I guess," Gopichand said.
Along with her brother, Gopichand credits Aditi's mother, Shaila Swami, as the backbone of the youngster's journey so far. Gramsevika or the secretary of gram panchayat by profession in a village near Satara, she is the one who deserves a lot of credit, thinks Gopichand.
"We are both working parents. My wife has looked after all of Aditi's needs, while also taking care of her job. She has reached this level because of her mother's hard work as well."
Even her college, Lal Bahadur Shastri College, has stood behind Aditi, who is a student of the science stream.
"Her school had backed her in the past and now her college has done the same. Even now in Germany, she has carried some books with her to study if she gets any free time," a teacher inside Gopichand cannot help but pride over this.
A district that prides itself on many achievements sporting and otherwise, once had one of the worst female foeticide rates in the state of Maharashtra. So much so that the government had to intervene to reduce the number of Nakushi (unwanted girl child). This was around the time when Gopichand, his family, and Pravin decided to stand behind a young girl to take up a demanding sport like archery. Banking on that support with her immense hard work, Aditi has scripted her name in the history books.
This is just the beginning for her and her success could inspire many more to pick up a bow and arrow.