A fter a day of training at the Sai Sports Academy in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur town, Pinky Ahirwar, 18, starts walking her bicycle back with a group of girls and boys, all teens. The cycle belonged to her older brother who got it from the State government five years ago, after he finished Class 10. “I used to come for practice by a shared auto-rickshaw, which cost ₹40 daily. So, I got the bicycle fixed and saved that money to spend on my diet instead. That helps me in training,” she says.

She has been training at the academy for about one and a half years. Her diet involves chana (chickpea) and banana — staple sources of protein and energy for young athletes training in rural northern India.

As Ahirwar’s village, Dhidhonia, is about 35 kilometres from Chhatarpur, she stays in a rente

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