Page 30 - EW November 2024

Young Achievers

tional career. Since then, double in May at the All India Sub-
other shooting milestones Junior Ranking Badminton Tourna-
include: a silver at the ISSF ment in Mapusa, Goa.
World Cup 2018 in Chang- The only child of software engi-
won, South Korea; silver at neers Rabinarayan and Sailabala
the ISSF World Cup 2022 Patri, Tanvi attributes her success
in Baku which enabled his to sustained family support and
selection for the World high-quality coaching. “Encouraged
Championships where he by my parents, my initial training in
was a member of the bronze Chinese-style badminton followed
medal winning team. At the by competing against veteran play-
Hangzhou Asian Games ers at PPBA has given me valuable
2023, he was a member experience,” says Tanvi, a class VIII
of the gold medal winning student of ODM Global School,
team, and after rigorous Bhubaneswar.
trials in Delhi and Bho- Introduced to the game in Taicang
pal, Swapnil was officially (China) — where her parents worked
SWAPNIL KUSALE inducted into the Indian Olympic at the time — at age five (2016), she
started playing in a beginners’ camp
shooting team in May (2024).
“Although my debut at the Paris under coach Jiang Yong Yi. In quick
ack in Pune from the Paris Olympics was somewhat intimidat- succession she won nine singles titles
Olympics 2024 (July 26-Au- ing, it was a good learning experi- (U-8, U-9 U-10 and U-11) in tourna-
Bgust 11), Swapnil Kusale, ence because I got the opportunity to ments across China from 2017-2020.
bronze medalist in the men’s 50 compete with world-class shooters. In 2020 during the Covid-19 pan-
metre rifle three-position event, was Now I am prepared to give a better demic, she was spotted in a talent
given a red carpet hero’s welcome. account of myself in the Los Ange- hunt and invited to join the PPBA
The 29-year-old gives credit for les Olympics 2028,” says Swapnil, promoted by the eponymous former
his exemplary achievement to sup- who was recently promoted to the India and All England champion
portive parents — Suresh Kusale, position of Officer on Special Duty, Prakash Padukone. Since then, she
a Zilla Parishad school teacher, Sports Wing, Central Railways, has trained under its director and
and Anita, a village sarpanch. They Mumbai. chief coach Vimal Kumar.
signed him up for the Maharashtra Aim high, Bro! “Tanvi reminds me of P.V. Sindhu
government’s Krida Prabodhini Nasrin Modak Siddiqui (Mumbai) in her younger days. The ability to
sports programme when he was 14. win matches at a young age is a sign
Following three years of tutelage of high potential. She will go a long
under former national shooting TANVI PATRI way given her cool temperament,”
champions Nana Deshmukh and says Vimal Kumar.
Vishwajeet Shinde, he was selected Tanvi is currently preparing
for the national junior shooting ven as the star of former bad- intensively for the 2025 Asia U-17
squad. minton world champion P.V. Badminton Junior Championships,
In 2014, Swapnil won his first ESindhu is dimming, another and the forthcoming Nationals U-17,
gold medal at the National Shoot- star is rising in Bengaluru’s world- U-19 championships. “All this is
ing Championship which motivated class Prakash Padukone Badminton preparation for the 2028 Los Ange-
him to pursue this sharp shooters Academy (PPBA). Early teen Tanvi les Olympics,” she says with quiet
sport more seriously. Subsequently, Patri is earning encomiums in the in- determination.
consistent performance in domestic ternational and national badminton God speed!
tournaments earned him a place circuits. In late August, 13-year-old Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)
in the national shooting team. In Tanvi recorded a stunning victory
2015, he joined Indian Railways over Vietnam #2 Hi Thu Huyen
serving as a traveling ticket exam- Nguyen in a 34-minute final to
iner (TTE). Despite being obliged to clinch the girls’ singles U-15 title
serve long hours, he balanced work of the Badminton Asia U-17 and
with a rigorous training schedule. U-15 Junior Championships
Most important, the prize money he staged in Chengdu (China).
earned enabled him to purchase his Winning championship titles
first rifle for Rs.3 lakh. “The delays and media headlines is becom-
in acquiring my first gun slowed my ing a habit for this young teen.
progress,” recalls Swapnil. In June, Tanvi bagged a double
In 2015, Swapnil won gold in the crown — U-15 and U-17 singles
50m rifle prone 3 event in the ju- titles — in the Yonex-Sunrise All
nior category of the Asian Shooting India Sub-Junior Ranking Bad-
Championships in Kuwait, mark- minton Tournament staged in
ing the beginning of his interna- Hyderabad, and earlier another

30 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2024