An introvert child picks up an archery bow at a stadium full of team sports because her father says she must play something alongside studies and becomes India's first senior world champion at only 17 years of age.
Aditi Swami's story sounds like the plot of an uplifting sports film, albeit a fictional one. Yet, it is the realty of the compound archer who had the sensational debut season in 2023.
In July, she became the Under-18 women's world champion soon after breaking the junior qualifying world record.
In August, she became the youngest senior world champion in the World Cup era, scripting history for Indian archery.
In October, she was a part of the Indian clean sweep at the Asian Games, winning the individual bronze and a gold in the team event along with Jyothi Surekha Vennam.
"To be honest, I didn't think my first season would be so good. To become World Champion and then win medals at Asian Games, has been a great year," Aditi tells ESPN.
A debut season like this is indeed rare at the highest level. But Aditi has been shooting with rare confidence and a smile that rarely fades. The confidence comes from her result after the World Championship, but the convivial outlook seems to have always been there.
"At the Worlds, I knew I was young and inexperienced compared to others. I saw them and was thinking arre yaar main kya khelungi inke saamne [Oh dear, what can I even play against these veterans]. These are such experienced player, they know so much more than me. But when I was at the range and shooting against them, I realised that age doesn't matter as much. Hard work and luck also matter," she says. It's not as if she was unaffected by the occasion or pressure; she was able to push it aside with all the conviction of youth -- a rare intrinsic quality in young elite athletes.
Aditi admitted she doesn't think much at all once she lifts her bow. "Focus on one arrow at a time, don't think too much. I just stay confident that I have done this and I can do even better."
This mentality was evident in the highlight of her gold run in Berlin - beating role model Jyothi, India's most prolific compound archer, in the semifinal. Jyothi has a total of eight World Championship medals and was primed for her first individual gold. For a 17-year-old debutant to beat was an upset and then some in Indian archery.
"It was a great experience for me to play against didi [older sister] both times," she says. The second was at the Asian Games semifinal, where Aditi ended up on the losing side due to just one bad shot, but the smile on her face was intact. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose so I didn't pay too much attention to it," she says sagely.
Aditi's guileless attitude is a reflection of her roots and an unconventional, relatively relaxed journey into professional sport.
She started archery when she was 10 years old, not as a passion but a fulfilment of her father's wishes.
"My father was insistent that I play a sport along with my studies, so I chose archery. When he took me to the stadium, I saw the other sports kabaddi, kho-kho, basketball and then I saw archery. I am an introvert and I saw that this sport requires more focus and concentration," she says of her first tryst with the bow. "The equipment was also very interesting to look at and it was an individual game."
At that stadium in Satara was Pravin Sawant, the coach who would go on to change the face of compound archery in India with two world champions from his academy. He told the 10-year-old Aditi to first gain some core strength.
"I was very dubli-patli [thin] and didn't have a lot of strength so Sir said that I will need to work extra hard because of my built. I started with basics for the first six months and then I started to do well."
Back then, a pre-teen Aditi was not thinking about playing Olympics or even representing India, all she wanted was extracurricular activity. Which is why she didn't think much of using the more mechanical compound bow.
"Initially, I was not so serious about archery, didn't think that I would reach the Olympics or win a World Championship. It was something I was doing with my studies. Sir said that my position and structure will be very good for compound archery," she explains.
Now, compound archery is not an Olympic discipline and is therefore often sidelined when it comes to support and popularity. But athletes like Aditi are slowly changing that perception. And she has done it in her very first year on the circuit.
The Archery Association of India is also doing its bit for the compound discipline. They brought in former Italian international Sergio Pagni as full-time travelling coach this season and held camps in competition venues. "Archery Association of India had a camp in Berlin one week before the Worlds so I had a good understanding of the weather and conditions," Aditi says of the tricky, windy conditions in Berlin.
A lot has changed for Aditi and compound archery in India over the last one year.
"People are watching and there are more expectations [but] there are also good opportunities and sponsorships now."
Compound archery racks up steep equipment costs and players have often struggled to get consistent funding due to its lack of Olympic status. At the start of her career, her father had to take a loan but in her first year as a senior, she already has major sponsorships from sportswear company Puma. "Before the Asian Games I got a sponsorship with Puma which has been a good support. Our sport is an expensive one so most of our funds are for the equipment. So with a sponsorship like this there is some mental security."
Up next for her is the Asian Championship, which may be an easier task, compared to her 12th Board exams in science that she has to prepare for after the competition. "I don't enjoy studies as much but I have to keep my academics up," she laughs.
From choosing archery as a sport to do along with her studies to becoming a full-time athlete with little time for academics, it's been quite the journey for the 17-year-old world champion already. And the journey has only just begun.