Arjuna Awardee archers say recognition will motivate more laurels

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, Aug 30: Archers Dola Banerjee and Tarundeep Rai today acknowledged that the timely recognition of the sport which has come with the conferring of Arjuna Awards will motivate them to achieve more laurels for the country.

Dola and Tarundeep were honoured with the prestigious Arjuna Awards by President APJ Abdul Kalam at Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday.

''Of course, the Arjuna Awards will motivate the archers to bring more laurels for the country in top international competitions. This year it was our turn, but next it will be the turn of others to get the awards and my teammates will try to do better to get recognition. To get country's recognition is something everybody would cherish,'' Dola told UNI at the sidelines of a felicitation function at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

The Arjuna Awardees said their immediate aim is to break the medal jinx in the Asian Games in Doha this December.

India has not won a single medal in archery in the continental event so far.

''I am sure India will win at least a medal in the team event in Doha,'' Tarundeep said.

The 22-year-old Sikkim lad, however, conceded that gold medal in team event is almost out of question because of the presence of stronger teams like Korea, China and Chinese Taipei.

''You can't win gold in team events overnight in Asian Games or, for that matter, World Cup or Olympics. We have to catch them up and it will take some time even though we have improved a lot and been closing in the gap in the last four years from 2003.'' However, Tarundeep does not rule out a gold in the individual event in Doha, saying, ''Anything is possible and anybody can win a medal in Doha Games. It depends on what happens on the day of the competition,'' he says.

Dola attributes the resaons for India's recent successes to the various prize money tournaments held under the auspices of Archery Association of India.

The national body conducted 20 prize money competitions in the last two years.

''Earlier we used to have very few national tournaments and did not get much participation in international competitions, but now almost every month there is a national or intrenational event,'' said the first Indian women to win individual gold medal in a World Championship, when she achieved the feat in Turkey last year.

Tarundeep agreed and said that the increase in exposure was the main cause for the improved performance. Dola, however, lamented the non-availability of the best equipment for archers to compete with the Koreas and other Western countries. ''Koreans and other archers from Western countries like USA scored over Indians on the count of better equipment and this has been a handicap for us,'' the 26-year-old from Kolkata said.

Tarundeep, on the other hand, rued the absence of foreign coaches to impart training to archers.

''India had a Korean trainer few years back but now only Army has a full-time coach.'' says Tarundeep.

For Tarundeep, his initiation to the sport has been by chance and he said he did not take up archery dreaming to make it big.

''Though I was advised by an international archer from Sikkim, the prospects of becoming a top archer in the country, but I did not have chilhood dreams of becoming an archery star.'' He attended an Army talent scouting trial camp in Sikkim in 1997 when he was just 13 and was selected to train in Shillong, the resident of Namchi district in South Sikkim, said.

But, his rise to top level was quick if not meteoric.

Within a year of becoming a trainee in Shillong, he won the national junior title in 1998. He then shifted to Army Sports Institute in Pune in 2002 and since then he has been training there.

Tarundeep said he knew that Arjuna Award would come his way once he becomes a national champion.

''Once you start bringing laurels for the country, awards would come in, so winning the Arjuna Award is in a way, no surprise and I am very happy to win the Award.'' By winning the prestigious awards, Dola and Tarundeep join Krishna Ghatak, Shyam Lal, Limba Ram and Sanjeev Kumar Singh who won the Award in 1981, 1989, 1991 and 1992 respectively.

Dola Banerjee first shot into national limelight when she won the Junior National Archery Championship in 1993.

She became the first Indian woman to win individual gold medal in World Championship in Turkey last year.

She also stood 13th in individual event in the Athens Olympics in 2004, besides winning individual gold and team gold in the recently concluded SAF Games in Colombo where India swept the medals in archey wiining all the four gold and four silver.

Tarundeep has also won medals in international competitions.

The 22-year-old Sikkim lad's best performance had been the silver he won in the World Outdoor Target Archey in Madrid last year. He was also a part of the Indian team in Athens Olmpics.

UNI

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