She started playing archery with a second hand bow that too bought by her father with a lot of hardships. Today, she is one of the most sought after Archery coaches in the country with prestigious Dronacharya Award in her quiver.

Meet Purnima Mahto, the first woman from Jharkhand to bag the prestigious Dronacharya Award. Her list of achievements is full of laurels and glory. In 1994, she won gold medal in every category at the National Games and was declared the best player of the year. That record stands, even today, in archery. She had set a national record of winning six gold medals in archery. In 1998 Commonwealth Games she won silver. After successful career as an archer, she later coached the Indian team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2012 London Olympics and Rio Olympics 2016.

 “Like any other student in the city, I started playing athletics but soon I got attracted towards archery.    The bows were quite expensive, however, my father managed to get me a second-hand bow. After being able to prove my potential I went to the National Camp where I proved my talent and with sheer determination and started hitting bull’s eye,” recalls Mahto.

Mahato, who joined Tata Steel in 1994, and senior coach at Tata Archery Academy, received the prestigious award for her excellence in coaching and raising the standards of archery in India. The Dronacharya Award is the ultimate recognition awarded by the country in sports to coaches.

Questioned her about her next mission, Mahto said that winning Olympic gold medal for India is his biggest dream of her life and she will put her heart and soul to prepare the Indian team to strive for it.

“I am really excited to have been bestowed with the prestigious Dronacharya Award but my biggest dream of life is to ensure an Olympic gold for my country. Our team has been performing exceptionally well in the international circuit however, Olympic gold medal still remains distant from us. My next aim is to prepare the cadets in a way that they will win Olympic gold,” said Mahto,

Mahto is also known for maintaining balance both in her personal and professional lives. “ I am a dedicated professional when I am on the field, but I make it a point to forget about archery when I am at home and spend time with my children.

My husband is a marine mechanical engineer and is mostly away from home. I remember my elder son was hardly 6 months old when I had to go out for professional purposes. I had to send my son to a boarding school because I wasn’t able to devote much time to him.

But I make sure to spend quality time with him whenever he is back at home,” she says.