Aarti first yogasana athlete recommended for Arjuna

Hailing from MP, she took up yoga asa 13-year-old and is the country’s leading practitioner of the sport

- Shantanu Srivastava

Growing up in Indore ina family of limited means, Aarti Pal had her share of tough days. Her father Chhotelal Pal worked as a gardener, and the family of six struggled to make ends meet. If not for yoga, Aarti — now India’s leading yogasana athlete — would have hada very different life.

On Wednesday, after becoming the first yogasana athlete to be recommended for the Arjuna award, Aarti’s past flashed before her ina showreel of emotions. For once, the accomplished yoga practitioner traded her usual calm for childlike excitement.

“Itis truly unbelievable. 1am so happy. It feels the journey that began all those years back without areal purpose has found a destination,” the 34-year-old told HT.

Like most sporting fairy tales, Aarti’s journey began on a rather fortuitous note. With money hard to come by, sport was never an option for Aarti, the second of four sisters. “Icould have been married off early because we didn’t have the money to fund the education of four children. That's how it is in households like mine, but yoga came to my rescue.”