A day after he became the first Indian ever to win a medal at the U-18 World Athletics Championships, the magnitude of Damneet Singh's achievement has yet to make an impact on him.

The hammer thrower who won silver with a throw of 74.20m at the world event in Nairobi, Kenya is yet to receive a congratulatory call, even as he heads to the Moi sports stadium where he plans to cheer the rest of the Indian contingent. The time difference between Nairobi and Barnala, Punjab, where his family resides, means not even his family has been able to speak to him.

Amongst his peers though, the 17-year-old is being noticed. "When the Indian team first came to the competition, no one really talked to us. We had never won anything. After I won the medal yesterday, now all of a sudden people want to talk to me and get to know about me," Damneet says.

Damneet's journey in the hammer throw began only in 2012 when he started training in the event under coach Sukhraj Singh in Barnala. However, he says he was destined to be an athlete.

Damneet's father Baldev Singh was a national level pole vaulter, while his older brother Gurmeet competed in the decathlon. "When Damneet was three or four years old, our father would take him to National Institute of Sport (NIS) in Patiala. While he would practice in pole vault, Damneet would sit and watch," says brother Gurmeet.

When he was 10-years-old, Damneet was competing as a sprinter but was advised to change events by coach Sukhraj, who had received a PhD in that event from NIS. "Both his parents were quite well built. So I felt he would also become quite strong. He needed an event that would suit him," says Sukhraj, coach of the youngster who now weighs 97kg.

The youngster would prove to be a natural. In 2015, he set the U-17 national record of 70.60m (with a five kilo hammer) and in 2016, he added the U-19 national record (65.29m with a six kilo hammer). In May this year, he won a silver at the Asian Youth Championships, throwing the 5 kilo ball and chain a distance of 70.29m. After the World Youth medal, Damneet has his sights set higher.

"I don't have any more youth competitions. My next challenge will be the World Junior Championships next year," he says. He will eventually upgrade to the men's category with its far heavier 7.5kg hammer, but for now, Damneet and his coach are taking things systematically.

"When Damneet started out, I had charted out a four year plan for him. He hit all the targets I had set for him. Last year we began another four-year cycle. Even though he has won a world medal, he is still quite young. The heavier hammer can put a lot of strain on an athlete's back. I let him warm up with it so he gets used to the weight but he will not train with it until he gets older," says Sukhraj.

Indeed, even at the World Championships, Damneet wasn't expecting a medal. "My coach told me the medal didn't matter. My target was to do a personal best which I was confident of achieving," he says.

As Damneet steps along the path towards senior success, there are no guarantees of making it.

"The sport isn't cheap. My protein supplements alone costs around Rs 4000 a week. Both my parents are working and are very supportive so that makes it easier for me. But there isn't any financial support apart from them. They are sacrificing so much so I have to perform."

While his parents are backing him to the hilt, his mother, a school teacher, insists that Damneet balances his studies, too. For the moment, that is something he manages to do well; in his class 10 board exams a couple of years ago, Damneet scored a 9 CGPA.

Damneet knows next year, with both the world junior championships and the Asian and world juniors, will be a hard one. "I will find a way to manage somehow. Studies are important but athletics is what will give me a name. People should know who I am."