Raipur, March 26 : In 2022, during a regular class, when a sports teacher asked students to select different sports, 11-year-old Anjali Munda quietly raised her hand and chose swimming, the only sport she knew.

Anjali comes from Gahiragadiya village in Odishaâ??s Jajpur district, about 100 kilometres from Bhubaneswar. She knew swimming as a fun activity that involved splashing water, but she never received any formal training.

Anjali, the youngest of four siblings whose father is a van driver at a local factory, moved to the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) at age 10. There, tribal students from across the state receive free education and boarding. She was initially inspired by her elder sister, an archer.

However, when the opportunity arose, Anjali selected swimming as her preferred sport, trusting her innate ease in the water. Although it took her some time to develop the confidence to compete, she has never looked back after winning a silver medal at a local club tournament a year later.

â??The silver medal was the first in my life, and is very special. It gave me the confidence that I could do well in the sport. I have to thank my coaches for believing in me, and the effort that they put during my training sessions,â?? said the 15-year-old Anjali, who became the first female gold medallist on the opening day of the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games here on Wednesday.

In fact, if Anjali had not clocked 2:39:02 to win the gold in the 200m freestyle, Karnataka, Indiaâ??s swimming powerhouse, would have claimed all six gold medals available on the opening day.

Anjali emphasises that her upward trend is due to the Union Sports Ministryâ??s targeted initiatives, such as the ASMITA League (Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women Through Action).

â??In 2024, I won two silver medals in the Khelo India ASMITA League, held in Sambalpur. I had finished within striking distances of the podium in the other two events. The medals boosted my confidence further, and I believed I could do well in the bigger tournaments,â?? she added.

Anjali continued to excel at the recent Khelo India ASMITA (U-15 & U-18) Swimming League (East Zone) held on March 21 and 22 in Guwahati, where she won a couple of silver medals.

A few days afterwards, Anjali brought that form to the first Khelo India Tribal Games 2026 in Raipur and secured her first national gold medal. Although she achieved a landmark victory, the Odisha teenager admitted she was not completely happy with her performance, as she had hoped to surpass her personal best of 2:25.

The young athlete is now aiming to beat her personal bests in the upcoming events, specifically the womenâ??s 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, and 200m individual medley.

/IANS