Budding athlete Supriti Kachhap from Gumla district of Jharkhand has overcome her humble origins to win many laurels for the country.
Supriti was the youngest participant at the Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championship held in Kozhikode, Kerala, during April 2-6. She completed the 5,000-metre race in 16.33 minutes, against the qualifying mark of 16.40 minutes.
At the 2020 National Games held in Guwahati too, Supriti set a new record in the U-17 3,000-metre, reaching the finishing mark in 10.02 minutes. She has also been selected for the U-20 World Championship 2022, to be held in Columbia in August.
In 2017, Supriti was ranked seventh at the Junior National Championship in Vijaywada. But the 19-year-old has beaten several odds to reach this position, and she has been helped by her brave and broadminded parent.
Hailing from Burhu village, Supriti’s father was killed by the Naxals when she was just two. Her mother, Balmati Devi, ran from pillar to post for government aid, even as she worked in the fields to feed her four minor children.
“In tribal society, a daughter is a burden,” Balmati Devi admits. “If the infant girl is the ultimate responsibility for a widowed mother, imagine her whole life’s woes ahead.”
Still, she forged ahead and in 2004, was granted a Grade IV job on compassionate grounds, at the Gumla block office. She then managed to enrol her children in Jari block primary school.
Supriti joined St Patrick School in Class VI, where she was talented enough on the track to be spotted by sporting mentor Prabhat Ranjan Tiwari.
Man with a Mission
Impressed by her performances at various district and state level events, Tiwari offered to shape her career.
“After she passed her class X board exams, I rented a room for her in Gumla,” he remembers. “When Coach Pratibha Toppo offered her admission to SAI Academy, I took Supriti to Bhopal by air at my own expense. I also clearly told Toppo that Supriti would continue representing Jharkhand and that I would stay in regular touch with her.”
Garhwa native Tiwari has himself been a high-level sportsman. He was an avid sports lover since his early childhood. “Those days, sports events were held in schools and colleges of Palamu region only on Independence Day and Republic Day. But I participated in the maximum possible athletics events held on these days and bagged several awards,” he recalls.
Although an MA in Economics from Ranchi University, Tiwari struggled to make a living on the basis of his sports cups, medals and certificates. In 2008, he became a coach at St Michael Academy in the Mahuadand block of Latehar district.
Tiwari formally secured a coaching certificate seven years later, and has since then, nourished budding talent in Hazaribagh and Palamu. In 2016, he joined the Residential Sports Training Centre for Boys in Gumla, where he spotted Supriti.
A Mother’s Blessings
Balmati Devi is jubilant about Supriti’s journey so far. She is determined to let her children build their own identities, despite social pressures.
“As a mother, I cannot undermine any of my children. I let my older son and daughter marry and settle with their families. My younger son is doing his BA and my youngest is struggling to fetch medals for the country. My love and blessings will always be there with each of them,” she says with a smile.
However, Balmati Devi admits with pride that “all of us have great expectations from Supriti, since she is the youngest and dearest of all.”
