India has come a long way in the world of sports and that is very much evident from what the women of a few places have accomplished. The women have broken free from barricades of their villages in the tribal regions and marched forward to establish a name for themselves in the world.
They have successfully made a mark on the international arena and are winning recognition along with fame and accolades. Let's have a look at five such women from the Indian Olympic contingent who come from tribal regions of India:
#1 Deepika Kumari
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Deepika Kumari comes from India's tribal heartland - Jharkhand. She is a symbol of how far we have come as a nation. As a child, Deepika Kumari used to target fruit on the mango trees in Ratu Chati, 15 kms from Ranchi, Jharkhand's capital.
At the London 2012 Games, she was the number one archer in the recurve category and one of India's medal hopefuls. But she failed to hit a single bulls eye and went down tamely in the first round.
Also Read: Indian archers looking to exorcise the London ghost at Rio Olympics
Four years later, she is again a name to reckon with in world archery after innumerable success in the past couple of years. Recently she equalled the feat of London Olympic gold medalist, Ki Bo Bae of Korea to set a new world record.
The only thing that eludes her is an Olympic medal, and, with it, sporting history. Will she finally hit the Olympic bull’s-eye in August? Only time will tell.
#2 Nikki Pradhan
The 22-year-old midfielder from Jharkhand became the first woman hockey player to represent India at the Olympics after she was named in the 16-member squad for Rio.
Nikki, who made her debut in 2015 has been a regular since then and has 12 international caps to her name. She belongs to a small village named Hesel in Muruhu block of Khubti district. What is surprising is the fact that her own villagers were unaware of her achievements before July 12th when the teams were announced.
Nikki lives in a thatched mud house where the bathroom does not even have a proper door.
#3 Laxmirani Majhi
Laxmirani Majhi is another archer who competes in international level competitions for India. The trio of Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi will be going to participate in the team event in Rio.
A member of the Santhal tribe, Laxmi grew up in Bagula village, Ghatshila district in Jharkhand. She was one of the very few girls in her village who attended school because her parents taught her that the most important thing for a girl is right education.
A silver medalist at the 2015 World Archery Championships, Laxmi is the daughter of a coal-mine worker and will be going to her first ever Olympics.
#4 Dutee Chand
Born into a poor family of weavers, Dutee missed the Olympics qualifying score by 0.01 seconds but clocked 11.30 seconds in Almaty, Kazakhstan to qualify for the Summer Games.
The Orissa-born sprinter who competes in 100m belongs to a tribal village in Odisha. She was the national champion before her world came crashing down in 2014. A few days before her first major international tournament (Commonwealth Games), the ace sprinter was found to have 'hyperandrogenism'. The 20-year-old was asked by AFI to quit racing but she filed a case and won in 2015.
Also Read: Dutee Chand's Olympic qualification is the most inspiring comeback story this year
She beat the Rio Olympics qualification mark of 11.32 secs at XXVI International Meeting G.Kosanov Memorial and booked an August date in Rio. Let's hope Dutee gains experience in Brazil for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
#5 OP Jaisha
OP Jaisha is one of the bright hopes for the Indian athletic contingent at this year’s Rio Olympics. Born in the tribal region of north Kerala’s Wayanad district, the marathoner had to struggle a lot while growing up.
Unable to bear the acute hunger, there were days when she had to eat mud and her mother silently watched the horror with tears rolling down her eyes. No matter how difficult life got, Jaisha did not give up and put her heart and soul into her training.
Soon she became a two-time Asian Games medallist in the middle distance events and broke a two-decade old women’s marathon record not once but twice. She qualified for the Olympic Games after crossing the finish line in 2:34:43 in the World Athletics Championships.
