My name is Deepika Kumari.
I was 14 when
I first picked up the bow and arrow.
At the age of 18,
I became the world number one woman archer.
Now I have only one dream...
..to win an Olympic gold medal.
(DEEPIKA KUMARI, TWO-TIME OLYMPIAN)
(WORLD NO. 1 IN ARCHERY AT AGE 18)
(SHAKTI, INDIA'S SUPER WOMEN)
(RANCHI, JHARKHAND)
(CAPITAL CITY IN THE HEARTLAND OF TRIBAL INDIA)
My father says that I was born in a mini truck.
They didn't make it to the hospital in time.
(DEEPIKA'S FATHER, SHIVNARAYAN MAHATO)
When Deepika was born,
we were living in abject poverty.
Her mother worked for a monthly salary of $10
and I had a small shop.
When I was a child, I was scared that if I get fat,
I wouldn't be able to climb a mountain.
She was a little thief!
Climbing trees and stealing mangoes and tamarind!
(DEEPIKA'S MOTHER, GEETA MAHATO)
When it was time to go to school,
she'd run off somewhere.
We had to find her and get her back.
In 2007, I had gone to my grandmother's place.
There I met my cousin, she told me about
the Kharsawan archery training centre.
She said they also provide
food and living costs for students.
This was a good thing,
so I could also reduce the economic burden at home.
Ranchi is a very small and conservative town.
(90% OF GIRLS IN RANCHI ARE ADMITTED TO PRIMARY SCHOOL.)
(ONLY 30% OF THEM MAKE IT TO HIGH SCHOOL.)
When I told my father that
I wanted to go and learn archery, he said no.
As a father, if I send my young daughter 200kms away,
then what do people say?
"He couldn't feed his daughter, so he sent her away."
But my mother agreed and let me go.
I wanted my children to work hard
and be independent, just like me.
"Gentlemen" often say "Ladies first"
while holding the door, or at a dinner.
I have never understood why.
Why don't they say it
when woman want to get into education or sports?
Have you ever thought about it?
Finally, my father relented
and we went to Kharsawan for my admission.
(KHARSAWAN 20KM)
Deepika came here with her parents.
She told us that she wants
to learn archery.
She was a frail little girl.
I thought she would be too weak to even pick up the bow.
They rejected me.
Then I asked them for three months' time.
If I was still unable to prove myself, I would leave.
I saw passion in her eyes.
So I accepted her admission.
And she started training in the academy.
When I first went to Kharsawan,
I was very excited.
Everything was new.
But over time, with all the problems there,
I became disappointed.
(KHARSAWAN ACADEMY)
(TRAINING GROUND FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN
(AND FUTURE INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONS)
There were no bathrooms.
We had to bathe in the river.
Wild elephants would wander at night,
so we were not allowed to go out for nature's call.
As I got more and more engrossed in archery,
then all problems took a back seat,
and all my focus was on the game.
I got a recurve bow soon enough and I started shooting with it.
Eventually, I fell in love with it.
Maybe this is an innate gift that the people of Jharkhand
have this intrinsic passion for sports.
In every sport, you will find athletes from here.
(JAIPAL SINGH, CAPTAIN OF INDIA'S FIRST HOCKEY TEAM
(TO WIN OLYMPIC GOLD IN AMSTERDAM 1928)
(DIWAKAR PRASAD, BOXING, OLYMPIC GAMES LONDON 2012)
(BIRENDRA LAKRA, MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM
(OLYMPIC GAMES LONDON 2012)
I would participate in small competitions
held in villages for prize money.
A gold winner would get $10,
a silver winner, $8, and so on.
Those were my earliest competitions.
Then I participated in the sub-junior school nationals
then the inter-state meet.
In 2008, trials were held for
the Junior World Championship.
There I met Dharmendra Sir,
who is now my coach.
He selected me and I came from Kharsawan to Tata.
(JAMSHEDPUR, JHARKHAND, STEEL CITY OF INDIA)
I simply loved the JRD Tata Sports complex.
I prayed with all my heart
that I may stay here forever.
They say, "Sometimes, dreams do come true."
And that's exactly what happened.
It was such a lively atmosphere,
completely focused on sports, basketball, swimming, cricket.
Everyone was serious about sports.
It was exhilarating.
After her first three months of training,
we were confident she would
make it to the national team.
She was initially under basic training.
After three months of this,
she started shooting at full distance.
In no time, she was scoring over 1,300.
Archery consists of ten basic steps.
First is standing.
Second is grip and hook
and preparation.
This is the hook, this is the grip.
Next is bow-raise,
followed by first aim.
Then comes the draw,
then anchoring.
Finally, aim and tighten and release.
I have always enjoyed the game.
At any tournament, I just wanted to aim and shoot.
When I first sat in a plane,
I simply couldn't believe it.
I kept thinking, "I'm in a bus!"
I kept pinching myself.
"Am I really on a plane?!"
Travelling overseas for a tournament
was a dream come true.
There was a time
when my parents stayed hungry to feed us.
It feels good to make them proud.
(ARJUNA AWARD 2012, PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA
(FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS IN SPORTS)
(PADMA SHRI AWARD 2016, THE 4TH-HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARD
(IN INDIA, PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDENT)
She was the sub-junior champion for two years
and a junior champion too.
It's rare for a sub-junior player
to win at a senior level in the same year.
In 2009, she went to Ogden with Coach Purnima,
where she became a Cadet World Champion.
That's when she started winning major accolades.
If I come back empty-handed from a tournament,
I feel like I've lost everything.
All my hard work seems to have amounted to nothing.
Maybe I'm not putting in enough effort
for the medal that I need to win.
I have very few friends.
I might not meet them often.
But, when I have that medal in my hands,
I feel like it's a very small sacrifice.
I simply cannot explain that joy.
In Turkey, she lost in the individual Olympic Games round
in the pre-quarter finals.
Then she started crying - I told her, "You played well.
"It's OK to feel sad, but learn from this.
"Now you know who your competition is.
"Try harder next time."
She knows the mistakes
she made at the Rio Olympics.
Whether it was a wind problem,
or her confidence, camera, crowd.
Suddenly, my shoulder started getting painful.
I couldn't even draw the bow.
I was resting at the time I was supposed to train.
It did improve quite a bit,
but I couldn't push myself enough.
When she lost at the Rio Olympics,
she called me and said,
"Papa, all my hard work of the last four years
"turned to nothing in those 15 minutes."
I told her - just hang in there.
Only those who fall will eventually rise.
Those who lose eventually win.
Now I have just one target -
winning the Olympic Gold medal.
(FROM THE AGE OF 12, DEEPIKA KUMARI HAS WON
(6 GOLD MEDALS AND 11 SILVER MEDALS
(IN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.)
(HER NEXT TARGET IS THE GOLD AT OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020.)