Archery, which has captured popular imagination in epics such as the Ramayana, has struck a chord among young archers in the Union Territory.
For scores of youth who have taken to this sport, archery is not only based on skills but also on rigorous training, high levels of concentration, the quality of equipment and encouragement by their near ones.
The Pondicherry Archery Association was started in 1991 by Vishwanath, who has been associated with the Pondicherry Olympic Association and Federation of Archery Association of India.
“It has been 25 years since this association came in the field of archery. It is a sport that has rapidly picked up patronage among the youth,” said Mr. Kodisvarane, the general secretary of the association.
A state-level competition was held in Jharkhand from April 8 to 11, 2016 for senior category in which three men archers and a sole woman archer represented the Pondicherry Association.
The Pondicherry Archery Association, with its base at Ariankuppam has 10 clubs with 4 categories in age group as mini sub-juniors (8-11), sub-juniors (11-15), juniors (15-18) and seniors (above the age of 18).
Its teams have participated in 35 national level tournaments and have conducted 24 state level tournaments.
“We have sought permission for conducting national-level tournaments in this city from the Archery Association of India”, Mr. Kodisvarane said.
Archery is a subtle sport that has attracted both men and women, coaches in the city said.
The equipment for this sport is bought by the players themselves. It costs around Rs. 6,000 for a regular one while the fibre glass version can cost around Rs. 1.50 – 5 lakh. The equipment was earlier provided by the association but due to lack of funds and support from government they are unable to afford it now.
The bows vary from individual to individual according to their height.
Insufficient financial aid
“The government does offer financial support for procuring the materials used for the sport, but it was not sufficient for all the archers, so the players are paying out of their pockets. The development of the association and the sport of archery owes a great deal to individual contributions,” he said.
Compared to other sports, archers have to work doubly hard to even get a participation certificate.
The archers in this association are trained by three coaches, including Lakshmanan from Hyderabad who is a gold medallist and has won 6th rank in a national level tournament in 2011. At an ongoing coaching camp led by Mr. Lakshmanan, more than 150 players have taken part.
According to coaches, the best archer is marked as excellent on the basis of his position, concentration and alertness during the sport. It needs at least two years of training for an archer to take part in a national level tournament.
Earlier, when the association was started, the archers were trained inside Arianyankuppam church for six years but now they have shifted practice sessions to Thavalakuppam.
“We have asked for consent to use the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium for practice,” said Mr. Ram, the present coach of Pondicherry Association of Archery who was himself a player of three years standing.
Young archers in the 12-13 age said their aim was to win a gold medal in the national tournaments. For 17 year old Thintamil, her immediate goal is to get ready to participate in the upcoming all India national tournament which will be held in Chennai for senior category in December.
A maximum of 4 men archers and 4 women archers take part in a national level tournament but they face difficulties due to changes in alignment in target board.
The distance for seniors in Indian round is 30 m and 15m, for juniors and sub-juniors it is 20 m and 30 m and in compound round it is double 50 m and recurve round is double 70 m. Recurve round is the only type of bow round which is used in Olympic level tournaments.
