Archer Sahil Jadhav with his coach Pravin Sawant during a video conversation after Sahil bagged two golds
The 24-year-old archer knew exactly what his coach meant. Those 52 seconds were the length of the national anthem, played for an Asian Games gold medallist. For Sawant, now with Maharashtra Police, those 52 seconds carried the weight of a journey that began nine years ago. He has coached Sahil since the youngster took up archery at the age of 15 at Satara’s Drushti Academy. Then, when I joined, I had just a Rs 17,000 salary, and a dozen arrows cost Rs 36,000. Sahil won his first national gold in 2024. He followed it with another gold at the World University Games in 2025. Earlier in 2026, he won his first World Cup medal in the men’s compound individual event in Shanghai. Before Sahil took aim, his coach had asked him to deliver 52 seconds.
Sahil won two gold medals for India at the Asian Games in Japan, triumphing in the men’s compound team archery event and the mixed compound team event. At one time I lost my job. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolhapur | Silver Rate in Kolhapur | Bank Holidays in Kolhapur | Public Holidays in Kolhapur Stay updated with the latest Kolhapur news.
Archer Sahil Jadhav with his coach Pravin Sawant, both had video conversation after Sahil bagged two golds Archer Sahil Jadhav with his coach Pravin Sawant during a video conversation after Sahil bagged two golds Archer Sahil Jadhav with his coach Pravin Sawant, both had video conversation after Sahil bagged two golds Archer Sahil Jadhav with his coach Pravin Sawant during a video conversation after Sahil bagged two golds Kolhapur: “Waiting for 52 seconds,” coach Pravin Sawant messaged Sahil Jadhav , along with a picture of the Tricolour. “See you with the medal,” Sahil wrote back, ending his message with a gold medal emoji. It eventually paid off,” said Sawant, himself a national-level archery gold medallist before joining the police. “We found out the problem and started working on a strong mind and body,” Sawant said. My wife supported us, and we downsized expenses to the bare minimum to support our son,” Rajesh said. He did this regularly for the last seven years,” his father said.
And one was not enough. When he stepped onto the podium, ‘ Jana Gana Mana ’ rang out. The road to the podium was long. For six years, Sahil struggled to even break into the national team. “He struggled to get into national teams for six long years. When he got into the team, it was never looking back. One thing he never gave up was training hard and chiselling himself to perfection. There were challenges from the start. Sahil’s palms would sweat while shooting, affecting his performance. The coach has trained several accomplished archers, including Arjuna Award winners Aditi Swami and Ojas Deotale. But Sahil’s rise stands out for the years he spent waiting for his breakthrough. Behind that persistence was also a family that stretched its finances to keep his dream alive. Sahil’s family hails from Karandi, a small village near Satara. His mother is a Zilla Parishad schoolteacher, while his father, Rajesh Jadhav, works at a vehicle company’s service centre in Satara. “My wife mortgaged her gold, we borrowed money to get him equipment and bows. Sahil, meanwhile, balanced studies with an unforgiving training schedule. “He used to attend college in the morning and in the afternoon till late evening he used to train for at least six hours a day. The medals eventually started arriving. But Wednesday brought the biggest reward yet. By the end of the day, the anthem had played for him twice. Download the TOI App.
Hours later on Wednesday, Sawant’s wait was over.