Heavy metal

Hurling the metal ball to a distance of 9.76 m, Hera Havewala won the gold medal in shot put at the ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) national meet in Rourkela from November 8 to 10, 2011. The schoolgirl is a Standard X student at Queen Mary School in Bombay. The previous month, Havewala had participated in the state selections at Akola and won the honor of representing Maha­rashtra at the nationals in Ranchi in shot put and discus throw. Earlier in the year, Havewala threw the discus to a distance of 19.05 m to pick up a medal at the 44th Bombay City District Annual Athletic Championship 2011-12.

"Hera started training in 2008 at the Bombay Parsi Punchayet athletics coaching camp. I give full credit to (head coach) Dara Doomasia and the team for starting her out in the right way. She began winning medals from her very first competition,” explains her mother Dr Arnavaz Havewala. Later, the schoolgirl commenced training with Govind Dangi at Priyadarshini Park. "She is very serious about her training and will not miss a single day, unless compelled,” says her mother.

Hera Havewala putting the shot on her way to the gold medal at Rourkela

Initially the focus was on running till one day she espied another athlete putting the shot! "She wanted to try it out but was refused. I was there too. ‘She is very big built and strong,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you let her hold the shot put and see,’” the mother tells her story. "That’s how it started and there was no looking back.” Combining sports with academics and co-curricular activities, particularly in the crucial final school year, is proving to be weightier than the shot put! "She has been going to state and national meets from April last year right up to December. She has hardly been in school and missed a lot of teaching, not had enough time to study… But she will not give up her shot put, discus and javelin for anything.” The weight of family support stands solidly behind, with her mother curtailing her hours of practice (she is a dental surgeon) or brother Danesh accompanying Hera to the meets. "I will always encourage her, even when she is studying hard to be a doctor which is what she wishes to do,” Arnavaz asserts. "I would like people to know that putting the shot requires as much hard work, training and fitness as running does, since many people feel it is easier,” the athlete says. "I enjoy my training. It makes me feel truly alive!”