New Delhi:

When archer Dhiraj Bommadevara lifted his bow to shoot in the individual ranking round at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, his parents -- B Shrawan Kumar and B Revathi -- had their pulses racing while sitting at their newly-bought home in Vijayawada. They experienced the same emotions that their only son was probably going though on his brilliant Olympics debut at Esplanade des Invalides in Paris.

Dhiraj, one of India’s brightest stars in archery, shot a stunning 681 (4th position) to guide the Indian team to an impressive third place in the individual ranking round. The men’s team (2013 pts) of Dhiraj,Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav is placed behind South Korea (2049 pts) and France (2025 pts). This is the best-ever performance by the Indian team in the individual ranking round at the Olympics and it means the Indian team will not meet powerhouse South Korea until the final, and also hands Dhiraj a good draw to fight for a medal.

The 22-year-old has shown top form over the last one year. He was the first Indian archer to win an Olympics quota place for the country at the Asian Continental Qualifier Tournament (ACQT) in Bangkok and the men’s team has performed exceptionally well too, consistently making podium finishes at world cup stages.

They beat the sport’s powerhouse, South Korea, in the world cup stage in Shanghai this year and that gave the team enough ranking points to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Dhiraj was also part of the team that won silver at the Asian Games. Besides he has two individual bronze medals in world cup stages, with six medals in men’s team and mixed team events.

“Dhiraj’s aim is to become a world champion, win a medal at the Olympics,” said his father Shrawan Kumar from Vijayawada. “We are also supporting his dreams.”

A large part of the lives of his parents is interwoven with Dhiraj’s archery. It isn’t just a sport for the family but so much more.

When a five-and-half-year old Dhiraj expressed interest in archery, Shrawan Kumar never thought his son would reach this far. As a doting father, he introduced Dhiraj to the sport after seeing his child’s unusual interest in the sport. “He would not take his eyes off the bow and arrow. I would take him to a nearby ground for physical activity. There were other sports too but he would always stop near the archery range. He would sit there and watch the archers for hours,” says Kumar.

At first, he let it go, thinking it was just a child’s fancy but after a few months of watching his son stick to the same routine every day, Kumar approached the archery academy, run by former India archer late Cherukuri Lenin. There began the journey of father and son into the sport.

“The academy wasn’t equipped to take care of a small child, so I used to accompany him.”

Gradually, Kumar gained knowledge about the sport and applied for a technical course and cleared the examination. Dhiraj was finding his feet at the junior level and needed more support from his family. Being a technical official allowed Kumar to travel with his son. A private school that Kumar was running also took a backseat.

“I got completely attached to archery. I had to give so much time to Dhiraj, taking him to school then for archery training. We had to take a call whether to run the school or be with Dhiraj. We saw Dhiraj was struggling, so I chose to leave the profession.”

But someone had to run the household. The responsibility was taken up by his mother Revathi, and she found a job in the same archery academy where Dhiraj went for training.

“We were somehow managing to pull through but it was a very difficult period for us.”

Dhiraj was now taking big strides in the sport at the age-group level in national competitions. It fast went from being a hobby to becoming an obsession.

“He was not interested in any other thing. He would hand me the bow: ‘Papa chalte hai (let’s go dad).’ We would go after breakfast, spend hours on the ground, came back for lunch and again practice till evening. I have followed this routine for years: Pick him up from school, have lunch and hit the ground. People seeing us would say, ‘Baap-beta pagal ho gaye hai’. (Father and son have lost it).”

Ten days before the 10th board examination, Dhiraj was participating in a tournament in Visakhapatnam. He became the under-14 national champion. “When the results came, he was fifth topper in his school much to the surprise of the school authorities.”

He won silver at the Senior National Championships in 2017 and also made his mark at senior international level winning silver medal at the Asian Outdoor Championships in 2017. Soon he landed a job in the Army Sports Institute. Dhiraj bought a house for his parents with his salary and cleared the loan with the prize money ( ₹20 lakh) he got from the Andhra government after winning team silver at the Asian Games.

“We faced a lot of issues but we have forgotten the tough times. Now Dhiraj is performing well in archery. All the pain is gone now,” said Kumar with a tinge of emotion in his voice. “Only the dream remains.”

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