A biography on the pride of Ace Archer Deepika Kumari will hit bookstores across the country before Tokyo Olympics 2020. The book titled ‘Kahani Diye se Deepika banne ki’ is being written by Sunil Badal (58), a current affairs broadcaster with All India Radio.
The book has been written in Hindi and will be of approximately 150 pages. It will be published by Prabhat Prakashan. Later, it may be translated to other languages including English.
Written in flashback, the book begins with the ace archer receiving the Padma Shri award in 2016 by the then President Pranab Mukherjee.
“For Deepika receiving the highest civilian honour has been nothing short of a dream come true. Just talking about their daughter’s achievements moved the proud parents Geeta Devi and Shivnarayan Mahto to tears,” said the author.
The book talks about the archer who comes from a humble background. It highlights her struggles and also how her parents supported her to achieve her dreams.
“On a visit to her maternal grandparents, Deepika came to know that a cousin of her is learning archery. That was what piqued her interest in the sport.
Though she had never seen a bow and arrow in her life, she did have a good aim since childhood,” added Badal.
Originally coming from old Ranchi, she belongs to a family of potters. With pottery gradually dying as a profession, her parents moved to Katantoli- a village near Ratu.
Among the numerous incidents mentioned in the book, one talks about how her parents took her to Kharsawan on a Rajdoot bike to participate in the selection process.
“On reaching the academy, Deepika stood in the queue for recurve archery instead of the one for simple archery.
The coach initially rejected the lean and lanky Deepika saying that she won’t be able to handle the metal bows.
The local coach then suggested they meet Arjun Munda’s wife Meera Munda to get admission in the institute. In the first meeting Deepika convinced Meera Munda to just give her six months to prove her caliber,” said Badal.
The determination to become an archer is what gave wings to the daughter of a nurse and an autorichshaw driver.
“The story of Deepika Kumari and her struggle to be where she is today, is an ideal example not just for budding sportsmen and young girls but also for the general public at large,” remarked Badal.
Badal is also a poet and has written a series called ‘Mangru’ which he will get published soon.
His other book ‘Moi Sushilla’ is also slated to release later this year.