Her never-say-die attitude helped her win silver for India in Archery

Neetu Singh/Abhishek Verma

"Many girls train at our academy. They come from far-flung villages in Jharkhand where female infanticide is quite rampant," said Madumita Kumari, who won a silver in Asian Games 2018 in the Women's compound archery team event.

"And yet they are hungry to win medals for our country. They have the passion. The country will prosper only if we give more opportunities to the girls," she added. The Games were held at Jakarta and Madhumita and her team, comprising Jyoti Surekha Venam and Muskaan Kirar, lost to their Korean counterparts in the finals.

Hailing from Ramgadh in Jharkhand, she started practicing archery in 2008, played her first international tournament in 2013 and has won more than 50 medals at the national level. Both Deepika Kumari, also from Jharkhand, and Madumita Kumari have managed to scale amazing heights of success. What makes it special is that they are an inspiration to many boys and girls from Jharkhand who want to take up archery. The general belief, after all, is that people from Jharkhand are born archers.

Madhumita's journey is full of interesting twists and turns

"I trained really hard for the 2018 Asian Games. I needed new gear and my sir, Sudesh, went out of his way to help me. I really wanted to win a medal for India. There were lots going on in my head then. I was a bit nervous. The media contingent made me even more nervous. But winning a medal for India is a feeling I will cherish for the lifetime," she said.

Madhumita got tremendous support from her family and her coach. "They always motivated me. They helped me get over roadblocks and setbacks. There were times when I participated in world championships and would lose by a whisker. They kept my tempo high. My family supports me a lot."

Talking about her never-say-die spirit, her coach, Shishir Mathur, said: "There was this hunger in her to win a medal for India. There were times she could not win, but she kept participating in big tournaments and never gave up."

The Birsa Munda Archery Academy Silli, at Ranchi, Jharkhand, is a Mecca for those who want to learn Archery. Thousands of kids train here every day. "Archery runs in our blood. People from Jharkhand are good at archery. Bows and arrows were our God Birsa Munda's preferred weapon. Even very young kids take to archery. This is the reason why this state has produced so many archers. Madumita, who trained here, won silver and that was a big deal for this academy, state, and our country," said Shishir Mahto, a coach at Birsa Munda Archery Academy Silli.

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