Meet 15-year-old archer Gatha, who made waves at the Archery Worlds

On a humid evening on September 12 in Gwangju, Korea, 15-year-old recurve archer Gatha Khadake was living her dream at the Archery World Championships. She was facing someone whom she was idolising and had watched her game in recent years. It was Olympic Champion and world No. 1 Lim Sehyeon. While she might have lost her battle in the fourth round of the women's individual recurve event 0-6, Gatha would be delighted to have taken home some valuable experience. Before she locked horns with Sehyeon, she faced Germany's Katharina Baueur, two times older than Gatha. Displaying composure to outclass her veteran opponent 6-4 in the third round, Gatha became the only Indian to contest in the fourth round.

Considering that this was just her second appearance on the global stage, beating someone who has been in the sport for as long as her life and who has tasted success in this stage is a commendable feat.Perhaps, facing Sehyeon was the icing on the cake for Gatha. "(I felt) we just saw them in videos and all, meeting them in real time would be a dream for me. I am glad that I got to meet them and play with them," she told this daily.

Athletes would have unique experiences of their own after rubbing shoulders with their idol on a competitive stage. For Gatha, that feeling has settled well. "It settled down after I played the World Cup Stage four in Madrid two months ago. I saw everyone and I was like, 'oh, what's there to get excited about?,' They were just normal players like us. It is just that they have worked hard on everything. They have reached this level. So we can also do better," she said. Outside the archery arena, Gatha is someone who was academically smart.

Securing first ranks, Gatha was particularly interested in space science and wanted to make it to the ISRO. Her father Anandrao Khadake recalled the moment when she had to choose between pursuing space science and archery. "So, we asked her to choose one. We told her that you have to select one and when you select one, you don't have to test for another thing in life again. So, she thought for a moment. She said, 'I will go with the archery. I want to play,' Khadake recalled. Gatha initially trained under Ramesh Shirsat of the Indian Archery Academy in Tembhurni.

In a tournament, Gatha caught the eye of Harish Randive, secretary of the Solapur District Archery Association. Randive, according to her father, recommended her to senior archery coach from Pune, Ranjeet Chamle. However, her rise in the sport meant that her mother had to give up her practice, which included a larger facility in Indapur, 22 kilometres from Tembhurni, to take care of her. "In the beginning, she used to travel once or twice a week and then we were getting closer to all these tournaments so her mother had to shift to Pune. Before that, she travelled almost four to five times a week to Pune," Khadake said. A round trip from Tembhurni to Pune comes at a distance of around 320 kilometres. "The journey lasts almost six hours of travel and then eight hours of play (training)," she said. It also meant that Gatha's young twin sisters — Dnyananda and Piyusha — did not have their mother around.

Gatha took that upon her stride, and ensured that she made her mother's efforts worth it. "The most important thing is that my sisters are still young and they're like living away from their mother at such a young age. She did not hesitate to say yes, which motivated me," Gatha said. Gatha's trapezius muscle injury of the shoulder in the end of 2022 according to her coach Chamle, was unfortunate and came from an ill-advice to take on a heavier bow. "With Gatha punching above her weight, she was given a heavier bow by her previous coach. That hurt her shoulder and she had to recover for a year," Chamle said.

One of Gatha's strengths were her reception to instruction and the quick improvement over her ability. "Her performances in the world are creditable at best. She has a lot to work on, but with her discipline, expect her to be a better archer soon. Technically, her long hands help her, but physically she needs improving," the coach said.

At such a young age, Gatha has already done things that many would dream of. She has now set her eyes on getting selected for India in the Asian Archery Championships, and trying to solidify her position in the squad for the Asian Games next year.