Gold winner Deepika was always on target - with mangoes!

JHARKHAND - She would aim for mangoes on trees and the stone would never miss its target! Deepika Kumari, daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver in Ranchi, could not have known that it would lead to archery gold at Commonwealth Games one day.

“She hardly ever missed her aim while bringing down mangoes with stones,” Geeta Mahto, the proud mother of the 17-year-old archer, told IANS on a day when she won her second gold in New Delhi Sunday.

“Initially, it was difficult to provide her equipment and other facilities. We would support her financially by cutting short our budget. But we knew that with her determination, she would one day achieve her dream,” says Mahto, a nurse in a primary health centre.

Born into a humble household that made many sacrifices to support her, Deepika never once let it come in the way of her dream of becoming a world class archer.

Deepika started off by practicing with makeshift bamboo bows and arrows. She soon got her first break in 2005 when she was enrolled in Arjun Archery Academy, set up by Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda in Seraikela-Kharsawa district.

And there was no looking back after that. In 2006, she joined the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur where she was provided proper equipment, training, a uniform, a room and a meagre but crucial stipend of Rs.500 per month.

Government help has finally come in after Deepika struck two gold medals. It was after she won a gold in the women’s team archery event Friday that Munda announced a cash reward of Rs.10 lakh for her efforts.

The sun shone on her again when she won another gold in the individual archery event Sunday.

Going by her mother’s words, this is just the beginning of the fairytale.

“She has won gold in the Games but her goal is to win gold in Olympics,” Mahto said.