Meet 15-year-old archer Gatha, who made waves at Archery World Championships

ON a humid evening in Gwangju, Korea on September 12, 15-year-old recurve archer Gatha Khadake was living her dream in the Archery World Championships. She was facing someone whom she was idolising and had watched her game over the phone in recent years. It was Olympic Champion and World Number 1 archer Lim Sehyeon. While she might have lost her battle in the fourth round of the women’s individual recurve 0-6, Gatha would be delighted to have taken home some valuable experience.

- CHANDRA PRABHU @ Chennai

Gatha Khadake caught the eye of many during the World Championships

Before she locked horns with Sehyeon, She outclassed Katherina Baeuer of Germany, who is two times older than Gatha. Considering that this was just her second appearance in the global stage, beating someone who has been in the sport for as long as her life and who has tasted success in this stage is a commendable feat.

Perhaps, facing Sehyeon was the icing on the cake for Gatha. “We just saw them in videos and all, meeting them in real time would be a dream for me. I am glad that I got to meet them and play with them,” she told this daily.