By Meinam Amit Singh
SHILLONG, May 6: Meghalaya has a lot of potential in the discipline of archery, believes national archery coach Min Bahadur Gurung. “Archery is in the blood of people here,” Gurung said while talking to The Shillong Times on the sidelines of Archery event of the 4th Meghalaya Games at SAI Archery Ground in NEHU on Friday.
Gurung feels that archery is deeply rooted in the tradition of the state. “Even the teer results are done through archery, and so I feel archery runs in the blood of the people,” he said.
The immense talent would, however, go to waste if they are not scouted properly. “To scout the talent, the government and the archery association should hold a lot of competitions at the school, college and club levels,” the ex-Army man said.
However, the sport has its limitations. The equipment for one is not something that everybody can afford. With professional bows costing more than Rs 1 lakh, the sport seems virtually out of reach for many.
“The government should intervene here (in providing equipment) and help out the talented ones. But handing out just one or two pair is not enough, they should give out a minimum of about 20 bows to deserving talents if we want to see ourselves winning medals,” Gurung said.
Star national archer Atanu Das, while talking to The Shillong Times said, “Meghalaya just needs one medal at a national event and things could change drastically for the state.”
“If the state has even one representation in the national team, there is a possibility that sponsors might come to the sport in the state. That might prove to be the much-needed inspiration for people to take up archery,” Das added.
On the poor result of the Indian team at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, Gurung said that the pressure got to the team. “Pressure and the bad luck proved to be our downfall,” he remarked.
India was unlucky to be paired with South Korea before the medal rounds. “Koreans are at a different level,” Gurung said. “Even their university teams can take on and win against any national team in the world,” he added.
“In order to compete at that level, India too has to have a scientific approach to the sport,” Gurung concluded.