Promising athletes are spotted in stadiums. But newly crowned National Youth Champion Deepika was spotted literally on the porch of her home. Deepika used to watch trainer Hanuma train youths at an abandoned chicken farm next to her home in Bangaon in Fatehabad district, Haryana. The then 10-year-old had no idea what the boys were up to with spears in hand.
“She used to just sit there and watch us train. And since her house was right next to our training center, she always fetched us drinking water in large jugs. Pehle, bas paani dene kaam tha bass (Your original duty was just to provide us with water),” recalled coach Hanuma, who is credited with bringing out several young talents from the region recently.
But fast-forward to 2022, Deepika is one of the top junior pitchers in the country. The 16-year-old, who holds the national U-16 record, proved her skills again at the Youth Nationals in Bhopal on Monday, where she set her own youth (U-18) mark with a personal best of 51.83m wrote.
Deepika, who surpassed her previous record of 51.37m, was the only thrower to break the 50m mark in Bhopal, qualifying for next month’s youth championships in Kuwait. Sapna, another Hanuma district, finished second behind Deepika with 48.76 m.
The gulf between Hanuma’s students and the rest of the contenders can be seen as third place went to Nishi Kumari, whose best effort was 43.51, nearly 5 meters behind Sapna and a good 7 meters below Deepika
Coach Hanuma insists it wasn’t just luck that earned Deepika a place in his academy. “I didn’t take her in just because she lived off the ground. I saw her alone mimic the throwing action after we all left. She never did it before us. I realized she had this grip strength, so I just asked her to join us for training,” says Coach Hanuma, a physical education staffer at Haryana’s Board of Education.
Although Deepika is still in charge of water duties, she has gradually become one of Hanuma’s top trainees. At last year’s javelin national championships, where Hanuma’s students won a medal in the U-16 category, Deepika rewrote the national age group with a throw of 49.31m.
The always-smiling, reserved athlete doesn’t open up easily. She prefers to either nod or reply in monosyllabic. Your thoughts on rewriting the youth sign? “Bahut achaa lag raha hai (I feel good.) How was your training and preparation for the event? “Bahut Acha”.
Interviews may not be her forte, but sport definitely is. There are no half things. Despite being on the lower side of the strength index, her sophisticated engineering allows her to achieve maximum support. “We just focused on her fitness for the first two years and then gradually started javelin training. Sapna (who came second) is actually much stronger than her, but she doesn’t stretch her arms out as far as Deepika. You have to stretch your arms and decelerate to get the best performance,” explained coach Hanuma.
Good technique aside, it’s Deepika’s sheer hard work and dedication that sets her apart Hanuma thinks.” She has only missed a training session once in the last five years, including when her uncle died. She does not go out to attend family gatherings or weddings. She has the ability to grasp things and is just very diligent,” says Hanuma.
Coaches Hanuma and Deepika are looking forward to the Asian Championships in Kuwait and hope Deepika’s lower abdominal strain will be resolved by then.
“She entered the competition with a taping. She has been struggling since June and the only solution is to get enough rest. I give her breaks according to our doctor’s recommendations,” says Hanuma.