Purnima Mahato, coach of Tata Archery Academy is on cloud nine these days. The senior coach of Jharkhand archery has been bestowed with the prestigious Dronacharya Award.
Mahato has been selected for 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.
When contacted an ecstatic Mahato said: “It is indeed a great honour for me to have received recognition. I am greatly humbled and this award will encourage me to work towards contributing in the area of sports. I would like to thank Tata Steel for its support. Tata Archery Academy turned my dreams into reality”.
She said that the Government has recognised her efforts and she is very happy. Mahato said that she will work to nurture such archers who will hit the bull’s eye in the international circuit.
An accomplished archer, Purnima Mahato won a gold medal (Team) in the International Archery Championship held at Bangkok in 1993. She has several other International achievements to her credit. She joined Tata Steel in 1994 and has been coaching the cadets of Tata Archery Academy ever since.
She is the second archery coach from Jharkhand to have received the Dronacharya Award, the first being Sanjeeva Singh, who received the award in 2008.
Purnima Mahato has been one of the most successful coaches in guiding Indian Archery teams in the International arena. In 2005, she accompanied the Indian Archery team to Spain for the 43rd Senior World Outdoor Archery Championship where India won a Silver medal. She was the coach of the Indian team which won a Gold medal for the boy’s event and a Bronze Medal for the girls at the Senior Asian Archery Championship held in China in 2007. Her latest achievement as a coach was at the 2nd World Cup Archery held at Croatia in 2008 where Indian team won a Silver medal and a Bronze Medal.
Meanwhile, the archery fraternity of Jharkhand has expressed happiness over the Union Government’s decision to bestow ace coach with the Dronacharya Award.
Jharkhand Archery Association has welcomed the decision of the Government and said that the award will further instill confidence in Purnima to scale heights of success.
Congratulating Mahato, l Murthy, working secretary, Jharkhand Archery Association said: “The award has been bestowed for improved performances of Indian archers in last four years. We are
basking in the reflected glory of her achievement and feel proud of her”.
The Dronacharya Award, which was instituted in 1985, honours eminent coaches who have successfully trained sportspersons and enabled them to achieve outstanding results in national and international sporting events.