From the classrooms of Wesley College in Secunderabad to the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground archery competition in the 2012 London Olympics this month-end. This is a dream journey for former Asian bronze medallist in archery - Nachupally Arun Kumar.
The 35-year-old former Asian bronze medallist has the privilege of being nominated as a technical official for the Olympics archery competition at a venue which is incidentally the ‘Mecca of World Cricket’. “As an archer I could not make it to the Olympics. But my dream of being there in some capacity is now a reality,” says a visibly delighted Hyderabadi.
And importantly, the Business Management graduate from Osmania University is ready for the biggest sporting event of his career.
“By virtue of my experience in the pre-Olympics test event at the same venue, I did get a feel of what the organising committee expects from me,” says Arun Kumar, who incidentally got this ‘life-time opportunity’ on his own rather than through the Archery Association of India.
For someone who is also credited, along with a Jharkhand archer, to introduce compound bow category in Indian archery, but which interestingly doesn’t figure in London Games, Arun does believe that the conditions in London should be much better off for Indian archers compared to the last Olympics in Beijing where it was windy after heavy rains. “We have a great chance to surprise many in archery given the remarkable achievements of Indian archers of late,” he insists, having seen many in the Indian team from close quarters.
The 2006 national champion, who is now into import and export business, is all geared to get a feel of what it means to be there in the thick of Olympics.
