CHEKROVOLU SWURO, 30

ARCHERY WOMEN’S RECURVE Dimapur, Nagaland

HER STORY The north- eastern state of Nagaland has contributed only one Olympian before archer Chekrovolu Swuro, in the form of Talimeren Ao, who captained the Indian football team in its first official game at the 1948 London Games. It took 64 long years and, coincidentally, for the Games to return to London before a second Naga could don Indian colours. At the age of 13, the burning desire to have her picture published in the newspaper drew Swuro to archery. She has been training under Korean world champion Lee Wang Woo.“He never treats us as his inferiors and respects our strengths, which gives us confidence,” she says. Sourcing equipment is the biggest problem for archers and Swuro feels grateful to the Mittal Champions Trust for taking care of it.

VANTAGE POINT She has spent the past 17 years perfecting her technique, a prerequisite for a precision sport like archery.

CHALLENGE AHEAD She was slated to be part of Beijing 2008 Olympics but lost out to bad form. Swuro will be competing with the best, against champions like Ok- Hee Yun of Korea, who won two golds at Beijing.

OLYMPIC RUN- UP She shot to fame at last year’s World Archery Championship in Turin where she paired with her current teammates Deepika Kumari and Bombayla Devi to score 54 points and win a silver medal. Her team stood No. 2 at this year’s world ranking for 52 countries, and is expecting a podium finish at the London Olympics.

“I am aiming for gold, because that will inspire the dreams and aspirations of many more Naga girls.”