India’s archery team is confident of a good show at the Commonwealth Games 2010.
T hey are not used to the limelight. Nor are they too comfortable talking about their achievements. But that takes nothing away from Jayanta Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Mangal Singh Champia. The country’s top three archers are preparing for the World Cup which begins on Monday in Turkey. Fresh from winning gold at the national championships, Rai is in a confident mood. “Doing well at the World Cup is top priority and it will hold us in good stead for the Commonwealth Games. Champia, who finished third at the national championship is disappointed with his recent run of form. “I haven’t been doing well in the last few months but have been working hard to improve my performances.” Talukdar, however, is the one to watch out for. The only Indian to be ranked number one in the recurve section of archery, he has beaten Olympic gold medalists and other top-ranked archers in the world. “We have an excellent team and are hopeful of putting up a good show,” says the 24-year-old from Assam.
All three of them have seen tough times. Rai is from Sikkim and was interested in being a footballer. However, once he picked up a bow and an arrow, there was no looking back. “I just fell in love with the sport,” , the 26- year-old recalls. Since then he has been to the Olympic Games, and won medals at the World as well as Asian Championships.
Champia, 28, is a Jharkhand boy and archery always fascinated him. He enrolled in the Volga Archery Academy at Vijaywada to further that passion. Since then he has won a bronze at the Doha Asian games in 2006 as well as the Asian Championships in 2008. “I really want to do well at the Commonwealth Games,” he says.
Archery is a sport in which India has traditionally done well at international competitions. Limba Ram brought the sport to the nation’s attention in the 1990s and, ever since, the country has produced good archers on a consistent basis — both men and women.“As a nation we have shown in the past that we can compete with the best,” says Talukdar. He was schooled in archery from a very young age, following in his brother’s footsteps. “At first I wasn’t too keen, but my parents and coaches thought I had it in me,” he explains.
These three archers, who have been part of the national team for over five years, feel that times have never been better for archery in India. Talukdar is confident the team will do well in events leading up to the Commonwealth Games. As Champia says, individual glory is important, but winning as a team is special.
All of them have made big sacrifices. Talukdar had to give up academics while Champia left his family to move to Vijaywada. Though there has been support — Talukdar is supported by Tata Steel and Champia by the Mittal Champions’ Trust. The Sahara group has tied up with the Archery Association of India to sponsor the team and cash rewards totalling upto Rs 30 lakh were given to the top archers. Financial support was a problem initially, but now that the corporate world is backing them, these archers feel much more confident about puttin g up a good show.