By Paritosh Pramanik
FROM the waterlogged slushy field where he had to make his own path with boulders and bricks to reach the Target Buttress in Bada Tajbagh practice area, to climbing the victory podium as world best archer at World Archery Championship in Berlin, Germany, Nagpur’s Ojas Pravin Deotale has scaled ‘Everest’ in a very short time.
All because of his dedication, determination and strong willpower to excel in the bow and arrow sport, which he took only to enjoy in leisure time.
Earlier this month, Deotale created history by becoming the first Indian man to win a gold medal in the compound event at Worlds. He also helped the Indian Compound team to grab the yellow metal making it a double delight for him as well as the nation.
Back in Nagpur after achieving the summit, Deotale is a busy man at his Hingna T-point residence. Requests for interviews and congratulatory messages from well-wishers have been pouring in since the last couple of days.
But the 21-year-old archer has no qualms. He is well aware of the attention that comes with stardom. “Initially it felt nice but now I am a bit bored and tired with this much attention,” Deotale candidly said while talking to ‘The Hitavada’.
From a 15-year-old newcomer to the bow and arrow sport to world champion at the age of 21, Deotale has achieved too much in too little time. “It’s been only six years since I started playing archery. It was just for leisure. But my love for this sport grew and I started dreaming of representing India one day,” recalled Deotale who trains at Satara under Pramod Sawant.
“When I got the India call, I just wanted to perform well. But gradually the hunger for achieving success grew and I started dreaming of winning medals for the country. That desire and willpower helped me reach where I am today,” said the Indian archer.
But the journey to the top was not a cakewalk. There were hurdles all over. Deotale had to travel from his Hingna T-Point home to Bada Tajbagh for practice.
“It was a makeshift archery arena, an open field. During the rainy season, the entire field used to turn into a big pond. The patch on which we used to practice was not reachable with puddles all over. I used to put boulders and bricks to reach the Target Buttress, after releasing the arrow from target area. During summer days it was more difficult. The scorching Nagpur heat would drain us. There was no shade and we had to train under the burning Sun. I was determined and my childhood coach Mohd Zeeshan sir guided me,” said Deotale.
After winning the historic gold with 150/150 score Deotale was over the moon. He could not believe he had done the unthinkable. “My legs were trembling. I was totally lost. And then the national anthem was played in Germany. There were goosebumps, tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. I had fulfilled one of my dreams, my country’s dream,” Deotale proudly said.
The golden boy of India said archery is not at all an easy sport as it looks from the stands. “It is a very difficult sport. You have to train really hard to hit that arrow on target repeatedly. It needs a lot of concentration and meditation. During competitions, there is noise of the clicking of cameras continuously which distracts you, then there are spectators and officials, all at one place and you have to concentrate on that single dot from 50 metres away. Meditation helps in concentration. I meditate while I go to bed at night. I put my earpods on and listen to soft music, preferably the tunes related to nature...the soft tune. I close my eyes and visualise my target then, how I am holding the bow, how I will release the arrow, how I will fight with the weather condition,” Deotale explained.
Deotale faced rough weather during the world finals. “It was windy during the finals. It was also raining and the sun was also out making it very difficult to shoot on target. Once, I even hit the side target board due to strong wind. But as I said, I concentrated and succeeded in hitting the bull’s eye,” narrated Deotale.
This is just the beginning and Deotale has set his target.
“Gold at Hangzhou Asian Games is the immediate target and an Olympic medal in 2028 (Compound event is not included in the Paris 2024 Olympics) is my ultimate dream,” Deotale signed off.
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