Golden girl: The story behind Ety’s success

Ety Khatun instantly became the talk of the country when she won three gold medals in the South Asian Games this year. 

Now, back in her hometown, Chuadanga, she is the talk of the town with every house greeting her with a happy face.

Ety, still continuing her studies say that she is waiting for her JSC exam results. She gave the exams from Jhinuk Girl's School in Chuadanga and she explained, "A good result here, along with the gold medals will be this year's biggest success for me."

A lot of sacrifices have to be made in her studies to do well in archery. However, Ety explains that she aims to study in a good school at Dhaka and she has already discussed this aim of hers with her parents.

"They know about me wanting to study in Dhaka and are trying their best to give me the inspiration to do that," said Ety.

She wants to take small steps forward into achieving her big dreams of one day representing Bangladesh in the Olympic games. 

"I want to give everything I have to achieve a gold medal in Archery at the Olympics. There is a competition in Germany next year and if I can do well there, I can qualify directly for the Olympics," Ety expressed.

"Because of the love and support from my family, I have been able to chase my dreams in archery. I want to ensure I continue to bring smiles to their faces and make them proud," Ety added. 

She also explained that the biggest help in archery came from her coach Sohel Akram and the general secretary of the district sports agency Naim Hasan Joardar. 

"Sohel Akram sir taught me how to hold the bow and arrow in archery and he also helped me find food and accommodation in Dhaka; Sir also tried to ensure I was continuing my education," Ety said.

"Just like most other sports in our country, archery is not a well-known sport so no one knew about me. But now, people are always visiting our house and seeing how I'm doing, so that feels very nice," Ety said with a smile. 

Ety's classmate Rumki Khatun said that Ety was good at sports from a very young age: "She used to regularly win awards in sports and as a result of her concentration in sports, her studies suffered. But now with her doing so well in archery, she can take her studies forward too."

Ety's father Ebadat Ali's dream is also to see her daughter participate in the Olympics: "Ety will hopefully bring glory to our country by winning the gold medal in the Olympics."#

Ety's coach Sohel Akram expressed that she is like a daughter to him: "I see her just like my daughter and I had dreams of her doing well in archery. She has turned some of those dreams into a reality, but there is still a long way to go."

The general secretary of the district sports agency Naim Hasan Joardar explained that Ety will receive all the support she needs to do well in archery. 

The same sentiment has been echoed by her school's principal and the deputy commissioner of Chuadanga as well. 

After all, Ety has now become a national hero and an icon and everyone wants to ensure that she can continue her amazing journey so far.