Teen archer Rutali dedicates World Indoor silver to father, who succumbed to cancer
Teen archer Rutali dedicates World Indoor silver to father, who succumbed to cancer
City archer Rutali Vichare (16) gave the best possible tribute to her late father Suresh by bagging silver in the recently concluded World Indoor Archery Championship held in Pretoria, South Africa. 
Determined: Rutali Vichare during the World Indoor Archery
Championship in South Africa.
Rutali,u00a0 a resident of Sydney Cottage chawl in Bandrekarwadi in Jogeshwari, was excited after finishingu00a0 runner up in the U-16 individual recurve event but at the same time was sad she couldn't share her success with her dad.
Rutali's dad, who succumbed to throat cancer in 2009, encouraged her to take up archery. "I lost my father when I was 14. He had seen me winning medals at the state and national levels. But now I have won my first international medal and wish I could share it with him. I would like to dedicate this medal to him," Rutali told MiD DAY.
Rutali's mother, Supriya, also hoped her husband was alive to cherish their daughter's success. "He never treated her (Rutali) like a girl. He used to always tell her that he wanted to see her name in the newspapers. She was very dear to him. I wish her dad was here to see our daughter live his dreams," said Supriya, who works as a helper with Bhabha Atomic Research Center.
Rutali credited the win to her coach Subhash Nair, who spotted her during a clinic in school in 2007. "He is not just my coach but everything for me. I look up to him for any advice," added the FYJC student of Prakash College, Kandivli.u00a0
"I had never considered her (Rutali) to be a promising archer in the first two years she trained with me. But in the third year I could see the spark and took personal attention and the results are showing now. I think she could have won gold but missed out due to lack of experience," said Nair, whose son Vinayak won gold in the U-13 individual recurve event in South Africa.
Rutali hails from a very modest background and was able to participate in the World event thanks to Asmita Vidalaya's (the school she passed out from) financial backing.
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