Satara boy Pravin Jadhav targets Tokyo Olympics glory

Archer Pravin Jadhav (right) with his father Ramesh and mother Sangita at their home in Sarade village, Satara district

Ten years ago, Pravin Jadhav, 24, didn't even know what archery was. Today, he is a Tokyo Olympics medal hope as he teams up with Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai in India's men's recurve side as well as in an individual capacity.

Jadhav's journey from Sarade village in Satara district to representing the country is remarkable, an inspiration for any athlete. A son of daily wage workers, Sangita and Ramesh, encouragement to play sport came from Vikas Bhujbal, the sports teacher at his Zilla Parishad School in Sarade.

Pravin Jadhav during his training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune

"Athletics was the only avenue I was offered to be part of, so I started running and taking part in competitions when I was around eight. Bhujbal sir noticed that I was good at sports and made me participate in every competition at taluka and district level for those first four years," recalled Jadhav, who forced us to remember how young Sachin Tendulkar was ferried to cricket matches on coach Ramakant Achrekar's scooter.

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Memorable motorcycle rides

"I went to several places on Bhujbal sir's motorcycle. He bore all the expenses from his earnings and I used to stay at his home during competitions," Jadhav told Sunday mid-day from Pune on Saturday.

Jadhav then earned selection for Krida Prabodhini at Pravaranagar in Ahmednagar district at 12. Life at Krida Prabodhini hostel for was hard. He missed home and had to contend with the principal who was a disciplinarian; his strict ways leaving Jadhav teary-eyed many a time.

Jumping Jadhav

"I was very good at running and long jump. After one year of training at Krida Prabodhini, they selected boys to coach them for specific games. During one drill, I threw 10 out of 10 balls in a ring from a 10-metre distance and that may have been the reason I got selected for archery," Jadhav recalled.

He lost no time in entering the archery range in 2009. For the next six years, Jadhav was stationed at Krida Prabodhini in Amravati, Vidarbha, sharpening his archery skills.

Jadhav, Das and Rai earned their Tokyo games qualification at the World Archery Championships when the Indian men's recurve team clinched silver in The Netherlands in 2019.

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