The practice targets were peppered with arrows, much like the receptacles were with cigarette butts at the media centre. Side note: The Indonesians love to smoke, so much so that even their national monuments are not exempt from the filter-tipped sticks.
The sun was hot, the bows taut. India’s recurve archers were warming up, quite literally, as we walked towards them at the training venue in the GBK stadium complex. Former world champion Deepika Kumari was yet to reach, but the others focused on fine-tuning their shots before the competition events next week.
Lately, compound archery has been stealing the spotlight from recurve, which has not returned a lot of medals in the past few years. At the same time, the women’s compound team is ranked number one in the world.
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To add to the recurve team’s woes, there were reports that Deepika might not make it to Jakarta because of dengue (she had missed the flight to Jakarta). Coach Sawaiyan Majhi, however, put our fears to rest. She would arrive the following day, he told us.
The former archer kept close watch as his wards took aim, took the shot and walked to retrieve the arrows. In the absence of head coach Dharmendra Tiwari, who is reportedly under the weather, Majhi has been given the responsibility of the recurve team. Interestingly, one of his current wards was once his teammate. Vishwas, a bronze medallist at the 2006 Asian Games, had teamed with Majhi and two others to win a silver at the Asian Archery Championships in 2003. “Vishwas is experienced, and we have hopes from him,” Majhi told THE WEEK. “The juniors can also spring a surprise.”
A little way off, archers from Saudi Arabia and Indonesia shot alongside the Indians. “Our main competition will come from South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and China,” Majhi said. Notably, none of the teams were there, perhaps because they did not want to practise with their rivals.
Majhi returned to his wards to make sure they did their stretches after practice. He returned to us as the archers packed up their tools.
The mixed pair event, which will debut at the Asian Games this time, would be a boon for India, I suggest. “Yes, there are expectations from the event,” he said. “The best two archers form the pair.”
India’s recent run in the mixed pair event has been good, raising hopes of a medal performance at the Asian Games. Also, there is the possibility of the much-fancied Atanu Das teaming with the poster girl, Deepika.
As I stood there, imagining the formations, Majhi bid us goodbye. He had to return, he said. The next practice session was early morning.