ITANAGAR, 30 Nov: Huidrom Rudachandra Singh of Manipur won the gold medal in the boys’ (30 metres) Indian round event of the 42nd NTPC Sub-Junior (Recurve, Compound and Indian Round) National Archery Championship at Yupia on Sunday.
Singh was followed by Andhra Pradesh’ GV Lokesh and Adarsh Kumar of Bihar in the second and the third place, respectively.
Chandn Sahu of Chhattisgarh won the girls’ (30 metres) Indian round, with Priya Mahali of SPS Board coming in second, while Assam’s Hemani Basumatary came in third place.
In boy’s (20 metres), Kuldeep Mahato of Jharkhand won the gold, followed by state-mate Yogendra Hessa and Toran Yadav of Chattisgarh. The girls’ (20 metres) was won by Laxmi Kumari of Jharkhand, while Heikrujam Roshina Devi of Manipur came in second, and Priya Mahali of SPS Board had to be content with the bronze medal.
Richhav Kamboj of Punjab won the gold in boys’ individual elimination round. Rahul Karmakar of SPSB and Yogendra Hessa won the silver and the bronze medal, respectively.
In the girls’ individual elimination round, Tanushree Pramod Sonawane of Maharashtra won the gold. Hemani Basumatary (Assam) pipped Laxmi Kumari of Jharkhand to win the silver medal.
Laxmi Kumari and Kuldeep Mahato (Jharkhand) won the mixed team event, followed by Payal and Ashish of Haryana in second place. Priya Mahai and Rahul Karmakar won the bronze.
The boys’ team event was won by Jharkhand’s Kuldeep Mahato/Yogendra Hessa/Chandramohan Soren/Rajesh Purty, followed by GV Lokesh/Chittapuli Mohith Sai/Vanthala Lalith Sai Teja/Galla Mahidhar.
Jharkhand’s Laxmi Kumari/Radhika Laguri/Baby Kumari/Sunita Tuti won the gold, while Chhattisgarh’s Chandni Sahu/Nikita Yadav/Sarita Baghel/Simran Khusro won the silver.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, state BJP president Kaling Moyong expressed happiness over the participation of large number of young participants in the event.
He lauded the discipline and sportsmanship spirit shown by the young archers during the course of the championship.
Moyong consoled the state’s archers for not winning a medal, saying that participation in the event was more important.
“Archery is in our blood, and I have no doubt that our archers will make the state proud at national and international events in the future,” he added.
Arunachal Archery Association (AAA) president Tadar Niglar said that the association is focusing on making the state number one in archery.
“At present, Manipur is number one in sports. In the next five to 10 years, Arunachal can take the lead in the Northeast region and will become number one in archery. We will move ahead with focus, with a target for the Mission Olympics,” Niglar said.
“We have started four state-level championships and we have sufficient coaches to excel in archery. Where we are lagging behind is archery infrastructure,” he added.
He said that the AAA will groom, provide professional training and hold tournaments to provide a platform for archers from the state, and appealed to the state’s youths to take up archery as it is an Olympic discipline.
Expressing satisfaction over hosting the event, Niglar requested the Archery Association of India (AAI) to award more tournaments to the state.
He thanked Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kento Jini, adviser to sports minister Chau Zingnu Namchoom, Sports Director Tadar Appa, and government departments for their support in hosting the event.
Also present were Arunachal Olympic Association president Taba Tedir, ICR Deputy Commissioner Toko Babu, Naharlagun SP Nyelam Nega, senior journalist Dodum Yangfo, and others.
