User:Swpnildhamdhere

Early Life:

Born in the scenic small town of Maharashtra, Talegaon Dhamdhere, Archer Swapnil Dhamdhere grew up playing Kho Kho on the banks on Bhima River, alongside picturesque sugarcane fields. His immense passion for sports was left untapped for major portions of his childhood, given his family background of Agriculture and Politics. Much later, the Sports Director of his local school spotted his athletic talents and encouraged him to get trained professionally. Thus, began Swapnil’s journey of hard work and passion to achieving immense success in the world of Archery Sports.

Initially, Swapnil travelled to Pune City on the weekends for his training and eventually full-fledged it to a daily travel of 4o kms, just so he couldn’t miss any session of practice. He focused on both individual preparation and Sports Club practices to hone his Archery skills to the tee. He also created a makeshift Archery ground at his home in Talegaon Dhamdhere to add more hours to his sessions.

However, Swapnil faced defeat in the very first professional Tournament that he participated in. He was left devastated but self-motivated himself for the following Competitions. Eventually, Swapnil tasted success at the District level Tournament that same year. It was Swapnil's Archery coach Ranjit Chamale (International coach and Shiv Chatrapati Awardee himself) who guided him with improving his technique and also motivated him to keep going in his journey.

Meanwhile Swapnil also suffered from a ‘Tennis Elbow’ injury which put a setback in professional journey. He had to invest a complete year into healing and gaining his strength back. Swapnil’s father, who comes from a humble family of farmers and now is a self made Businessman, always shared his words of wisdom to keep him motivated. His mother too played a major role in his comeback from injury. She inculcated the ‘Never Give Up’ attitude in him, which helps him in his game even today. Swapnils parents are the backbone of his success as an International Archery player, in the truest sense.

Professional Journey:

Amongst many other accolades, Swapnil Dhamdhere was honoured with the prestigious Shiva Chatrapati Award by the Maharashtra State Government for the year 2016 - 17. While frequently participating in Archery tournaments all over the world, Swapnil has won two Gold medals (of 6 in total) at the National Level Tournaments held in India and 19 Gold medals (of 23 in total) for the state of Maharashtra.

Interestingly, Swapnil happens to be the first ever player of Maharashtra to have participated in the Kerala National Games. His selection for the ‘Asian Games’' trials, for more than 6 times, is also a mean feat in itself. Swapnil also holds the unbeaten National record of 157 / 160 for the past 4 years. He has been conferred with 'Individual Champion' of Maharashtra State for four consecutive times and 'Team Champion’ for about seven times so far.