New Delhi: Dipti Kumari can aim at the bull’s eye again. For several years, the 26-year-old international archer was left without a bow. She had knocked on all doors for help, but to no avail. Such was her family’s penury that she started to sell tea to help them.
The long wait is now over. A day before Rakshabandhan, Dipti received a call instructing her to reach the office of Ranchi Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Seth.
A new, shiny recurve bow was presented to her by Seth upon reaching the MP’s office. Dipti had tears in her eyes as she caught hold of the priceless gift. The Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), a PSU having major presence in Jharkhand, had used its CSR fund to provide the bow worth about Rs 5 lakh.
It’s been 9 months since ThePrint reported how the archer was forced to open a tea stall at Argora Chowk in Ranchi. Our team went to her home and spoke to her parents and highlighted her achievements.
Dipti was saddled with a huge loan as her mother had taken Rs 7 lakh from a self-help group in 2012 and used Rs 4.5 lakh for buying a bow.
Misfortune struck Dipti when her bow was damaged beyond repair while she was touring the US the same year. Though she switched to a bamboo bow, it meant that she was not eligible to participate in international tournaments.
Back in January, Dipti wanted to clear the loan her mother took but more than that she wanted to resume archery and appealed to the government to help her get an international standard bow. The request has now been answered.
“I did not know that I was about to receive a bow, they gave me a rakhi gift and now I will prepare for the upcoming competitions,” Dipti said over the phone to ThePrint.
Armed with a new bow, Dipti is looking to grab all opportunities but money remains a major obstacle as she looks to sharpen her archery skills that lay dormant for years.
“I want to join an academy but it is expensive, I cannot afford it right now,” said Kumari.
The academy fee, which includes the food and hostel charges, of Rs 10,000 per month is way above her means. After ThePrint’s story, several people came out to help her in whatever ways. She received money in her bank account, but it was not sufficient.
To compound her woes, the tea stall was removed as Ranchi civic officials went on an overdrive to welcome G20 delegates in March. Without the tea stall for which she had taken a loan of Rs 60,000 from her friends, the girl from Lohardaga was left without any means of earning.
In June, Dipti received a call from the Jharkhand CM’s office after she had made a representation to Chief Minister Heman Soren in April. The chief minister handed her
a cheque of Rs 2 lakh, much to her relief.
The money was useful to clear her loan, but her dream is to represent India again like at Ogden, Utah in 2012 and make her country proud. “I couldn’t do it alone, I want to thank everybody who has helped in any way. I have a long way to go. From now on, I will start practising,” she asserted.
Archery competitions are Dipti’s next stop. Right now, she is practising at the empty ground near her house in Lohardaga. She is marking trial dates on the calendar to participate in various archery events.
For now, the aim is clear for Dipti. “I hope I will make my country proud. My dream of having a bow has come true; I now look forward to living more dreams,” she said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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