Before he was breaking records in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was breaking bats in the nets - quite literally.

“Since his early years, he used to like hitting the ball and he used to hit it hard,” recalled Manish Ojha, Vaibhav’s childhood coach and a former Ranji cricketer, in an interview with the Olympics website.

Born in 2011 in Tajpur, a small village in Bihar, Vaibhav's journey began early. He joined Ojha’s Gen-Next Cricket Academy in Patna at the age of eight. Ojha, a seasoned eye, knew instantly that this was no ordinary prodigy.

“When he connected cleanly, the sound off the bat - that was something else,” Ojha said. “But the way he played, no bat lasted more than a month or so. These days, there are sponsors. Back then, if one broke, the family had to find a way to buy another.”

That explosive power-hitting is now Vaibhav’s signature and has earned him international stardom.

At the age of 12, Vaibhav amassed 400 runs in five matches at the Vinoo Mankad Trophy and made his Ranji Trophy debut against Mumbai - a staggering feat for someone not even a teenager yet.

Rajasthan Royals took notice and at 14 years and 23 days, Vaibhav made history, becoming the youngest player ever to debut in the IPL. Days later, he lit up the Sawai Mansingh Stadium with a 35-ball century, the fastest by an Indian in the tournament’s history.

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He finished his debut season with 252 runs in seven games, a strike rate of 206.56 and an average of 36.00.

However, before the spotlight, it was sheer sacrifice for Vaibhav and his family to reach where he stands today.

“Vaibhav and his father would travel from Samastipur, nearly 100km from Patna, every alternate day,” said Ojha. “The family would wake up at 3 or 4 AM, pack his breakfast and lunch, and head out. Practice started at 7:30 AM and went on till late afternoon.”

Next up for Vaibhav is an England tour with the India U19 side - a packed schedule of Youth ODIs and red-ball games, but Ojha is already looking further ahead.

“It will be a great honour for him if Vaibhav represents India at the LA 2028 Olympics,” Ojha said. “That’s a global stage for him because the whole world watches the Olympics."

Cricket will make its return to the Olympics after over a century at LA28.