JOIN USAt first glance, Roshni Elam Devi Vijay could pass off as just another little girl but picture her with a bow and an arrow in hand and she could be quite striking.
All of seven years and two months, Roshni, representing Tamil Nadu, is the youngest competitor at the 33rd National Sub-junior archery championships here and caught the eye of everyone in the motley crowd of archers.
Born on November 12, 2005 to R Vijay and Sudha, Roshni is a second standard student of Chennai’s Church Park School. Her love affair with the ancient sport began at the age of five.
“We used to get her these small bows that you get to buy in malls and she got hooked onto it. Then she gradually picked up a bigger bow,’’ a beaming Sudha, who dreams of making her daughter an IPS officer, said. Roshni trains at the Hu Archery Mission, run by Shihan Hussain in Chennai.
“She is very interested in this sport and never misses practice. What is most noticeable about her is the maturity that she shows while she is practising, the girl never gets upset when something goes wrong,’’ Abhilasha, who mentors Roshni along with her husband Kuldeep at the mission, explained.
The kid strikes a fine balance between studies and archery.
“We introduced her to meditation and strengthening exercises and she was very receptive. We just had to show her how to do something and the little one would replicate that exactly,’’ Abhilasha said.
Roshni is competing in the Indian round here. “It is more of an exposure for her and we feel it’s not right to push the kid to do something at this age,’’ says Sudha, who works in a BPO company.
Roshni, who trains two hours a day, thrice a week, has already made a mark in Tamil Nadu State meets, winning gold at an event in 2011 and a silver in 2012.
Ask Roshni how much she likes archery and she stretches her arm wide before replying with a grin: “Sooo much”.