A bulldozer driver’s daughter brings cheers for Jharkhand
IfMadhumitaKumarihas mixed feelings about Tuesday’s women’s compound archery team final in Jakarta, don’t blame her. She could have done better than shoot eight in the final set but the 21-year-old daughter of a coal mine bulldozer driver in Jharkhand would also appreciate what it means to be an Asian Games silver medallist. Especially since it her first international medal.
Along with Muskan Kirar and Jyothi Sureka Vennam, Madhumita, 21, helped India finish second to South Korea, losing a nailbiting final 228-231 in Jakarta. India went into the competition as the world’s No 1 team but the silver is an improvement on the bronze they won in Incheon four years ago.
At the Birsa Munda Archery Academy in Silli, about 60km from Ranchi, Madhumita’s coach Prakash Ram seemed to suggest that in sport, you either win or learn; you never lose. “This is no less than a gold for us as this is the first time the India women’s team won silver at Asian Games in compound archery,” said Ram.
Growing up in the Mukundbera Ghatotand area in Ramgarh district, Madhumita had to walk four kilometers each way daily to get to the feeder archery centre run by the Tatas. “Transport was a problem, so she walked,” said father Jitendra Narayan Singh, a bulldozer operator in the company’s mines in West Bokaro.
“Two archery coaches Prakash Ram and Shishir Mahato chose her along with a few girls for the Tata feeder centre in 2008,” said Singh. Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for Madhumita.
From Purnima Mahato to Deepika Kumari, Jharkhand has a tradition of producing archers. Deepika floundered in Jakarta but Madhumita ensured there would at least be a silver lining.
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