Deepika hails from Bangaon, which is a quiet village of 5,000-odd residents situated in Fatehabad district of Haryana. Athletics coaches from the region refer to it as the \u2018Mini Finland of Haryana\u2019 due to the surge in javelin medals from the area.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For the residents of Bangaon, scripting new records in javelin throw competitions, however, is a regular affair. The same is the case with Deepika.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On Thursday, Deepika improved on her own record. Featuring in her fourth Khelo India Youth Games, Deepika broke her previous meet record by hurling the spear to a distance of 56.79m to clinch the gold medal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. She has been a part of the Government of India\u2019s Khelo India scholarship scheme since 2022 as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The man behind her surge is Hanuman Singh, who does the talking and allows his wards to express themselves on the field. And as it turned out, it\u2019s easier getting records out of Deepika than getting out sentences or even words. When on the field, the Haryana girl does not shy away from breaking javelin records, but once the event is over, Deepika\u2019s answers to every question thrown at her are smiles and giggles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Try asking Deepika how she creates records so often, she giggles and deflects the question to her coach Hanuman Singh. \u201cShe has been working very hard. She does whatever she is asked to do. It is the discipline that has helped her break one record after another,\u201d replies Hanuman.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Why javelin, when Haryana offers a variety of sports for women like boxing, wrestling, and hockey? \u201cWhile growing up, Deepika tried a little bit of everything. Then Neeraj Chopra happened, and she decided to take up javelin as a career. Looking at all her records, she was right in taking the right decision,\u201d Hanuman said, as Deepika watched her coach reveal her liking for the discipline.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Unlike her hero Neeraj Chopra, Deepika has short hair. When asked why, she replied, \u201cAsk my coach, he told me to.\u201d Hanuman comes up with an instant reply, \u201cThis is one of the conditions to join the academy, it helps in training.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
This was her fourth medal at the Khelo India Youth Games. Barring the silver she won at the Guwahati Games in 2020, Deepika earned three gold medals. She broke the first record with 51.37m distance in Panchkula. In the Bhopal Games, she bettered the record with a 55.19m distance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Humble beginnings<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While the nearest synthetic track is around 65 km from their village, Hanuman had set up his academy in an abandoned chicken farm, owned by a relative. Hanuman, a medallist at the state and national level, began coaching in his village in 2010, and since then has produced several record-breakers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He recalled that the year 2017 was a turning point in his coaching career when his trainee Jyoti bagged the U-20 gold with a meet record at the Junior Nationals while Poonam Rani bagged silver medals at the senior Fed Cup, Open Nationals and Inter-State Meet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe surge started from there, all these kids were inspired by their feats and wanted to prove themselves on the big stage,\u201d Hanuman commented.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
As for Deepika, the daughter of a farmer, who lives next door to Hanuman Singh's academy, she is tasked to fetch a bucket of drinking water and refill it during training sessions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Deepika, who started life in the humblest of humble settings, now has two Under-16 and five Under-18 records to her name at the Khelo India Youth Games. She is now on her way to Khelo India University Games scheduled to be held in Guwahati in February.<\/p>\r\n\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2024\/01\/kiyg-2023-inspired-by-neeraj-chopra-javelin-thrower-deepika-continues-the-habit-of-breaking-meet-records.jpeg", "alt_img": "KIYG 2023: Inspired by Neeraj Chopra, javelin thrower Deepika continues the habit of breaking meet r", "alt_title": "KIYG 2023: Inspired by Neeraj Chopra, javelin thrower Deepika continues the habit of breaking meet r", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "KIYG 2023: Inspired By Neeraj Chopra, Javelin Thrower Deepika Continues The Habit Of Breaking Meet Records On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "KIYG 2023: Inspired By Neeraj Chopra, Javelin Thrower Deepika Continues The Habit Of Breaking Meet Records, Khelo India Youth Games: At the age of 17 years, young javelin thrower Deepika from Haryana has made it a.", "seo_keywords": "Neeraj Chopra, Khelo India Youth Games, World Championship, Mini Finland, On Thursday, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Khelo India, Hanuman Singh, Then Neeraj Chopra, Guwahati Games, Bhopal Games, Junior Nationals, Poonam Rani, Fed Cup, Open Nationals, State", "tag": "", "tagging": "Neeraj Chopra, Khelo India Youth Games, World Championship, Mini Finland, On Thursday, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Khelo India, Hanuman Singh, Then Neeraj Chopra, Guwahati Games, Bhopal Games, Junior Nationals, Poonam Rani, Fed Cup, Open Nationals", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "kiyg-2023-inspired-by-neeraj-chopra-javelin-thrower-deepika-continues-the-habit-of-breaking-meet-records", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "1001", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "0", "created": "2024-01-26 22:28:03", "updated": "2024-01-26 22:28:03", "img_from": "Image Source: IANS", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Neeraj Chopra, Khelo India Youth Games, World Championship, Mini Finland, On Thursday, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Khelo India, Hanuman Singh, Then Neeraj Chopra, Guwahati Games, Bhopal Games, Junior Nationals, Poonam Rani, Fed Cup, Open Nationals, State", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "1", "google_feed": "1", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "23", "jio_date": "2024-01-26 22:28:03", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "0", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "sports_name": "athletics", "cnmid": "857618", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/sports-news\/kiyg-2023-inspired-by-neeraj-chopra-javelin-thrower-deepika-continues-the-habit-of-breaking-meet-records-12625" }