Sonipat’s golden harvest: How Haryana city became India’s medal factory

When Kushal Dalal picked up boxing gloves, his family didn’t say no. When he gave that up and decided on archery – because Kushal didn’t like the idea of hitting anyone and felt at home in “a peaceful sport” – they agreed to that, too. There was no place around to practise archery, so a section of the family’s 5-acre farmland at Siwanka village in Sonipat was cleared. Paddy straw was woven to give him targets.Village gossip had brought Kiran Pahal’s running days to an abrupt end. After talk of Kiran “speaking to a boy” reached her father, he stopped her from going out. He relented after Kiran went on a hunger strike. Her grandmother used money from her pension to buy her a pair of running shoes.Before Neha Goyal played hockey for India, she helped her mother and sisters fix bicycles.