Municipal Commissioner Hari Kiran on Thursday said that every archer taking part in the Mini National archery championship should strive hard to realise the dream of late Indian coach Cherukuri Lenin, who wished to make India an archery powerhouse.
Speaking at the inaugural function of the sixth Lenin & Volga memorial Mini National (under-14) archery championship at IGMC stadium here, Mr. Kiran said that Vijayawada made a mark in the Indian archery by producing several world class archers and the credit should go to Lenin. “The VMC-Volga Archery Academy at Gunadala has become a breeding ground for quality archers in all age groups,” he added.
He appreciated the commitment of academy chairman Cherukuri Satyanarayana for promoting archery with devotion despite the untimely death of both his son and daughter.
Sage wordsArchery Association of India general secretary Anil Kamineni said that India was placed third in the world rankings. “The Mini National is like a nursery and the future stars of Indian archery are identified here”. He also advised the young archers to enjoy their shooting and not bother about the results. “While releasing the arrows your mind should free of stress. Archery is more of a mind game”.
Champion archers from Vijayawada such as Ch. Jignas, Ritul Chatterjee, Jyothi Surekha and Jyoshna were spotted in earlier mini-nationals. “They gradually made their mark in the senior age groups and went on represent India in several Asian and world events,” said Volga Archery Academy chairman Ch. Satyanarayana.
The cynosure of the inaugural function was Lenin’s little sister Shivani, who, with her tiny bow and arrow, won many hearts.
AAI observer C. Pramod and several Andhra Pradesh archery administrators took part in the function in which Bhargavi and Alekhya, both corporation school students, performed a classical dance.
