Purnima Mahto

Former international archer, celebrity coach of Deepika Kumari and now Dronacharya awardee Purnima Mahto believes that setting up academies and creating sports-friendly environment for coaches will help Jharkhand churn out more medalists on the global stage.

Speaking to The Telegraph on Sunday, after formally receiving the prestigious award a night before in New Delhi, the 37-year-old ace archer and mentor said it was a “dream come true to receive the recognition from President Pranab Mukherjee”.

“Irrespective of age, players always seek recognition and praise for their services. I consider myself to be lucky to be recognised by the Indian government at the right time. The award has enthused fresh energy in me to motivate a future generation of archers to do better and be persistent,” she said over phone while travelling back to Jamshedpur on Sunday evening.

Asked what made her evening memorable, pat came her reply.

“Making your near and dear ones proud of yourself is always a prized gift,” said Purnima said.

She was referring to her family members, particularly her six-and-half-year old son Siddharth who cheered his super mom.

On a more serious note, the veteran coach recommended that the state government must immediately focus on setting up sporting academies to help the latent talent blossom across Jharkhand.

“Majority of our state players hail from remote places and are devoid of proper exposure and skills. It is by the dint of their own hard work that they achieve success. Pick anyone — from hockey, athletics to cricket — you will find underdogs making it big on the global stage. This indicates there is potential among the young bunch of players. The state must help them, rather than being aloof or reluctant,” she said.

Harping on the need for academies to tap the talent and citing her own example, the archer added, “Had the Tata Steel’s archery academy not been there, even I would have been a nobody today.”

Employed as a senior archery coach with the steel major, Purnima said by rolling out academies on an urgent basis across all disciplines, the government would be able to tap talent.

“These young talents can be groomed easily to become future leaders.”

Purnima, who has many international trophies to her credit, began formal coaching in the early 1990s at the Tata Archery Academy.

Talking about the current crop of players such as golden girl Deepika, the ace player said: “They are just the tip of the iceberg of Jharkhand’s talent. The current players are in pristine form and I am hopeful that they will create history in the upcoming World Cup finals this month.”