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Glory be theirs

Photos: Sushanta Patronobish, Mohd. Yousuf

Sharp shooters Mangal Singh, Pranitha

Limba Ram, renowned archer of the 90s, may not have won any Olympic medal. But his competitive spirit at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics has triggered a virtual revolution of sorts as many youngsters from the relatively unknown rural areas take to the sp ort with a rare passion. Mangal Singh, the Jharkhand archer, who is settled since 2001 at the Volga Archery Academy in Vijayawada run by Cherukuri Stayanarayana, is one of those youngsters. This 24-year-old pursued his zeal with commitment and dedication to emerge as one of the two archers from the State to qualify for next month’s Beijing Olympics.

“I still remember watching Limba Ram in action in my early days. He is no doubt a big source of inspiration. And I am glad that I could achieve something in the world of archery,” says the Jharkhand native with typical rustic simplicity. He will be competing in the Olympic Round (recurve) event in Beijing. “It is not going to be easy to compete in any international event as archery, like shooting, is a precision sport which demands the highest levels of concentration on the given day. To put it simply, you can be the best on your day and also look very ordinary when things don’t click the way you desire,” says Mangal Singh, who only recently got a job with the Railways thanks to the efforts of Satyanarayana whose passion for the sport is now acknowledged and is a part of State sports history.

Ironically, Mangal Singh went for the Sports Authority of India selections in both cycling and archery. And when he developed greater interest in the latter, he just decided that it should be his first love. Now, with the archer booking a place for the Beijing Olympics, he can look back with pride and satisfaction. His growing reputation in the world of archery is evident by his being named the best archer in 2008 by the International Archery Federation. “I don’t say that I will come back with an Olympic medal. Honestly, I don’t want to talk big. All I can assure you is that I will try my best to give a special performance. I am aware of the fact that I have to wait for another four years to qualify for the next Olympics. This is a huge opportunity,” he explains. Training along with 60 archers at Volga Academy, Mangal is always keen on improving and hopes that he will peak at the right time for the Olympics.

When Mangal Singh and Vardhineni Pranitha, another product of a unique venture, the Rural Development Foundation (RDF), which runs the Khalleda School in Parvathagiri mandal (40 km from Warangal), were together for a demonstration the other day at Lal Bahadur Stadium, the joy of the likes of P. S. Ram Mohan Rao, founder-president of RDF, E. Ram Mohan Rao, the brain behind the whole concept, and Anil Kamineni, president of the AP Archery Association, knew no bounds. “This is a long a haul in a short time for Pranitha,” remarked Ram Mohan Rao, former Governor of Tamil Nadu. “It is always a great feeling to see a village girl scale these heights of excellence,” he added.

For her part, the 18-year-old Pranitha says: “I have achieved the objective of qualifying for the Olympics. And, now all I hope is that I stay focused on the big days during the Games and try for some special performance.When I look back, I think the silver in the 2006 Mexico World Cup (under-16) and being the first archer from India ever to win a medal in that event was the turning point of my career,” she recalls with a big smile. “That gave me the confidence that I can compete with the best in the world,” she added. “Importantly, even if I perform as well as I did in the selection trials, I think I should be good enough to scare the best in the business,” says the archer, who will be competing in the Olympic Round 70 m in individual and team events in the company of Dola Banerjee and L. Bombyla Devi. “I don’t want to invite pressure thinking too much about the event or the likely competition,” she says to a query.

For her part, Purnima Mahatao, the women’s coach at the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur, who has been guiding Pranitha since 2005, believes the Andhra archer’s best trait is her concentration and confidence. “She is one girl who never gave a chance to be told to train. She is always there at the target board without any prodding,” Purnima pointed out. Well, the two archers from the State are determination personified about hitting the bulls-eye. They can only hope for the best as can the sporting fraternity.

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