JAIPUR: Para archers are back to the grind. Gearing up for the upcoming World Archery Para Championship in Dubai, scheduled between February 19 and 27, their ultimate focus is on Paris Paralympics 2024, reports Mandakini Shalya.
Nine para archers, Harvinder Singh, Rajesh, Pooja, Pooja Khanna, Shyam Sunder Swami, Rakesh Kumar, Mitali Shrikant Gaikwad, Jyoti and Adil Mohammad Nazir Ansari, have been selected for the Worlds, and they are currently training at the national coaching camp at Sports Authority of India (SAI) Sonepat, Haryana.
“The World championship is a very important tournament as the rankings here will play a role in qualification for Paris 2024. The camp will go on till February 18,” said national coach Anil Joshi.
Joshi is confident of his team putting up a good show in Dubai. “We have a strong team which has been following a strict routine and well-planned training schedule designed and approved by SAI and Archery Association of India.
Tokyo Paralympics bronze medal winner Harvinder is there, then we have Olympians Shyam, Rakesh Kumar and Jyoti among others, who are tough competitors,” added Joshi, who hails from Rajasthan and is also a personal coach of Bikaner’s Shyam. He mentiond that the coming six months are going to be very busy with Asia Cup and Para Asian Games lined up.
Talking about Shyam, coach Joshi said, “The maiden outing at the Paralympics last year has made the youngster even more confident and is determined to work even harder with eyes fixed on winning a medal in Paris.”
Team: Recurve men open: Harvinder Singh (Haryana), Rajesh Kumar (Haryana); Recurve women open: Pooja (Haryana), Pooja Khanna (Haryana); Compound men open: Rakesh Kumar (J&K), Shyam Sunder (Rajasthan); Compound women open: Jyoti Baliyan (UP), Mitali Shrikant Gaikwad (Maharashtra); W1: Adil Mohammad Nazir Ansari (Maharashtra). Coaches: Anil Joshi (Rajasthan) and Kuldeep Kumar (J&K).
