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Archery needs a SHOT-IN-ARM
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It is high time the Government and tournament sponsors provided a helping hand to archery.
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The archers in action. ---Photos: C.V. Subrahmanyam
This is another case of a sporting discipline not receiving the support due to it, and a few determined officials and sportsmen are carrying along hoping for a good turn in future. Here are some archers in this region, who practise on their own and also train others. There is a physical education teacher working in the rural area and spending his own money and efforts on budding archers. There are some physical directors who have come together to form an association for archery and are knocking at every door to get sponsorship for the event.
The AU Archery coach, Ravi.
Then there are some youngsters who religiously practise archery in spite of its not enjoying the glamour and popularity/support like some other disciplines. His tenure at the Government Degree College, Paderu, prompted P. Satyanarayana, now posted at the Dr.V.S. Krishna Government College to encourage archery among students. He received good support from the Andhra University Sports Board secretary, M. Syam Babu. For the first time a AU team participated in the inter-university meet two years ago. Dr. Syam Babu and Mr. Satyanarayana formed the District Archery Association as vice-president and secretary respectively, and conducted the first district championship last year.
The participants were only 18. However, both are hopeful of a better turnout in future meets. They are also planning to organise a north coastal meet (in which other coastal districts are likely to take part) in February.They feel that there is a lot of talent available in north coastal Andhra alone and can get good results if the archers are trained well, provided competition and given adequate equipment. ''They practise throughout the year but lack competitions. Equipment is a big drawback for us. Bows for Indian round of competition can be bought for Rs.1,500 but for the FITA round, the bow costs a minimum of Rs.25,000 and it is beyond our reach,'' says Mr. Satyanarayana. But Dr. Syam Babu is determined to acquire the FITA bows. ''We will buy them with the help of sponsors,'' he says.Another important requirement is coaching. The association is planning to engage the coach of Osmania University, Ravishankar, for some period. He will also train coaches who in turn will take care of district archers. Right now, the senior archers, K. Ravikumar, T. Saddu and S.P. Dombor Dora, are providing coaching to the other archers.The tribal girls are practising archery till they are in Std.X but are forced to quit later. This is because of lack of accommodation in the places where they are expected to compete, says Mr. Satyanarayana. He and the AU team members cite a disturbing aspect. while disciplines that are not able to get medals or worse, even do not compete in tournaments, are being given kits and other help, no help is being extended to archery. The AU team could not do well in the inter-university meet held at Hyderabad as it was up against teams having archers who had participated in national and international meets, of course, with good equipment and better coaching.K. Ravikumar, a native of Billaput in Dumbriguda mandal in the agency area, picked up archery in 1998. Having participated in three junior nationals, he is a senior player and imparting training at Paderu to youngsters. He is provided accommodation and food at a centralised school premises in Paderu because he is coaching youngsters.His wards, K. Bharathi, V. Sandhya and A. Sudhakar Naidu, represented AP in the junior national championships held at Pondicherry. Ravikumar could only manage fourth or fifth places in the three junior nationals he had participated, because he lacked good equipment. He could acquire the new equipment only last year. Ravikumar feels that a sports academy at Paderu would benefit the tribal as well as rural archers.T. Subba Rao, a native of Vayya village in Dumbriguda mandal, is studying II B.Com. at the Government Degree College in Paderu and considered a prospective champion. His practice score is higher than the bronze-medal winning total of the last year's meet.His achievement can be considered good since he started archery in May last year, at a summer camp. He soon picked up three gold and one silver medals, to win the individual title and helped the AP team win the overall championship at the all-India tribal junior Nationals.He was initially trained by the PET of Srikrishnapuram Government High School, T. Saddu, who is a former national player. He could lay his hands on a good and new bow, thanks to the ITDA. It sanctioned seven bows and one was given to him.Other members of the team are keen to do well in archery in spite of the lack of support. B. Vamsikrishna of Vidwan College, Bobbili, and S. Ramesh of Sri Gayathri Degree College, Bobbili, talk highly of D.T. Gandhi, the PET of Seetanagaram ZP High School (now working at Parvatipuram), who has spent his own money and efforts in encouraging school children in archery. Vamsi is inspired by four girls of the school, who trained by Mr. Gandhi, and is participating in a national meet. K. Naresh is doing his M.Sc. previous in the AU College of Science and Technology. According to him, the facilities available in Vijyawada, where he had his degree education, are better because the Krishna district association is putting in a lot of efforts. He is participating in the inter-university meet for the first time. J. Goutam Babu is a first year degree student of the Krishna College. He was encouraged by his PD to take to archery. The college has provided him a bow. Like all others of the team he has his own bows, each costing Rs.60.All these youngsters are well aware of the lack of facilities and encouragement for archery, but are determined to continue with the sport and achieve high goals. It is time the Government and sponsors provided a helping hand to archery. A silverlining in the dark cloud is Bharati winning the first place in the 40 mertres event in the Pondicherry junior rural national and helping AP to win the team title.
G. NARASIMHA RAO
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