The country’s one of the prominent compound archers Pragati Chowdhury suffered a brain haemorrhage at her age of 17 only. Three years later, after a difficult recovery, Pragati was seen standing on the podium at the World University Games in Chengdu, China, this week, winning two medals – a gold and a silver.

Pragati, and Aman Saini upset the favourites from South Korea 157-156, to win the gold in the mixed team event. The Koreans struck back in the women’s team event final, and Pragati and her teammates had to settle for the silver.

For the 20-year-old, who was left struggling to even lift the bow after a complex neurosurgery, the twin medals have come at the end of a long struggle.

“It was a difficult journey but I’m happy I was able to achieve this. From the start, it was my aim to do well in sport. The brain haemorrhage came as a challenge. But my family and coaches, especially my sister Mansha who kept teasing me by saying ‘jaldi kariyo’ (hurry up), helped me along the way. I’m glad I had archery as a goal in my life after what happened,” says Pragati, a resident of Dilshad Garden in Delhi and student of the Guru Kashi University in Punjab.

Back home from China, she says she doesn’t remember much of her days in hospital. “I had a severe headache and fainted. My family took me to the hospital and the doctors told them I had a brain haemorrhage,” she recalls. “It was more of a challenge for my parents. After the surgery, I couldn’t remember in the afternoon what I ate for breakfast. It was difficult, though my doctor says none of his patients have recovered as quickly as me,” she says.

She recalls how she needed help to even sit upright. “I couldn’t even do that on my own initially. A physiotherapist helped me to slowly stand up… June 15, 2020, was a milestone, as I finally began to walk,” says Pragati.

She began training at the Devansh Archery Academy in Najafgarh, Delhi, and soon returned with a sub-junior Under-14 medal from Vijayawada. “At first, people said I’m dependent on my coach to win. I proved at my first international in Dhaka that I could win without my regular coach,” she says.

The brain condition came as a shocker in 2020, but it mellowed her parents’ opposition to the sport. “When I was recovering, my mother told me, ‘study if you feel like or play if that’s what you want. Do whatever makes you happy’. My sister was always in teasing mode — she would urge me to run, even when I was struggling to stand. That was her way of encouraging me,” she says.

Pragati says that at Chengdu, people were surprised to know that she and Aman had never trained together. “It was a very new experience, but Aman was a great motivator. During the semis, he kept saying aim for only the gold. At the final, he said he needed all my arrows to be a 10. I said I would do my best. He said, ‘not the best, I only want 10’. I shot with focus and confidence,” she says, adding that she is determined to continue competing and winning.