Three city archers have found their places in the Indian senior teams for World Cup (Stage 1 and 2) tournaments which will be held at China and Columbia. The first two stages of the four-legged premier international event will figure Chittibomma Jignas and Vennam Jyothi Surekha representing Indian compound teams for China while Volga Archery Academy teenager Purvasha Shinde will make her debut at Medellin in Columbia.
Former Volga trainee Jignas, who was out of action owing to fracture on his arm, made a brilliant comeback by winning the 2nd National Ranking Archery Tournament at New Delhi recently by hauling 16 points – the maximum at stake.
Jignas, presently working in Indian Army and representing Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) in the national events, is the winner of silver medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and widely tipped to figure in the Indian team for the Incheon Asian Games.
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This is fifth time Jignas is taking off to China and earlier he won four medals in the two events. Winning three bronze medals in the youth world championship at Wuxi was noteworthy.
India’s well-known compound archer Vennam Jyothi Surekha, also a former Volga trainer, is visiting China for the third time and she has lived up to her expectations as she finished second after Gagandeep Kaur, who garnered 674 points. “She narrowly defeated P. Lily Chanu for the second place after the duo scored an identical 671,” says Surekha’s father Surendra.
This Koneru Lakshmaiah University student is a regular face in the Indian team and is a front runner to seal her place for the prestigious 2014 Asian Games in August.
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Making her official international debut is the 15-year-old Viswa Bharthi Student Purvasha Shinde, who finished first in the sub junior segment later went on churn out creditable performances in the senior segment by narrowly losing to senior archers like Trisha Deb and Jyothi Surekha.
“Purvasha is a beneficiary of the new policy of Archery Association of India (AAI) which has decided to send all the top eight archers in both recurve and compound segments to all the four World Cup events to achieve the much-needed exposure,” says her coach L. Chandrasekhar at the Volga Archery Academy.
NICA: Mugshots: Jyothi Surehka: 145191948, Purvasha: 152058131.