Chennai: Chief coach Shihan Hussaini was thrilled with the performance of his wards and hopeful that they would replicate the success in several international events in the coming year.
Archers from Tamil Nadu nailed five bronze medals in the recently-concluded stage two of the indoor world cup in Singapore. It was a significant achievement for the state as world’s top archers were in attendance at the event.
Siblings Aksheiya Kaushic and Vishal Kaushic, Kuralaazhi Ravi, Rohit Rajendran and Sri Charan made TN, which had sent 23 entries, proud by winning a bronze medal each. For the record, bronze was awarded to four places from third in the meet.
The medal winners were, understandably, jubilant during an interaction on Monday. “Days and days of focused practice and
meditation helped me to stay calm and give my best,” said Aksheiya who was fourth in division A. The 16-year-old lost by one point to world no. 2, Tsz Sun Lau of Hong Kong.
The archers were made to work hard for their positions. Vishal, who secured the third place in division C, said: “Competing against the best in the world was tough. I am glad I came third, although a first or a second place would have been wonderful.” Rohit was hungry for more.
“Finishing fifth feels good but my target is to win the gold in the next world event and I am going to work hard to achieve that,” he said.
The event was a great learning experience for all the archers.
Kuralaazhi, who finished fourth in division C, said he learned a lot in Singapore. “It was the first time I competed with the big names. I have certainly come home wiser,” he added.
For Sri Charan, who was fourth in division C in the recurve category, coping with negative results was the most valuable lesson in Singapore.
“Winning isn’t everything. Taking a loss in my stride is also important,” he said.
While the senior contingent was delighted with the way their juniors had performed, they too had their share of exciting duels. In the compound category, Kuldeep Kumar lost a nail-biting contest against 63-year-old James Park of Australia. The winner was decided by the 'closest to the centre' arrow.
Chief coach Shihan Hussaini was thrilled with the performance of his wards and hopeful that they would replicate the success in several international events in the coming year, starting with the stage three of the world championships at Telford in Great Britain next month.
