Karnataka - Mysore   

Children try their hand at archery

Staff Correspondent

More than 125 students queued up at the familiarisation camp on the outskirts of Mysore

TAKING AIM: Students at an archery camp organised on the outskirts of Mysore.

MYSORE: Long after bombs and missiles had pushed bows and arrows into oblivion as weapons, adventure sports organisations in Mysore are seeking to revive archery and popularise it among students as a sport.

When Rotary Mysore Midtown Adventure Foundation and International Academy of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (IAMAS) organised a familiarisation session at Mysore Public School on the outskirts of the city on Children's Day, more than 125 students queued up to try their hand at archery.

Holding bows and arrows at the introductory session, most students could not help but recall from the pages of history and mythological stories, the heroic feats of warriors who had won many a battle with their brilliant marksmanship. Many of them jumped with joy when the arrows let loose from their bows found their target.

`Aim high'

The archery session was inaugurated by Principal of Mysore Public School M. Ramachandran, who shot an arrow at a target. Speaking on the occasion, he appealed to the students to "aim high" in their lives and work hard to realise their goals.

Director of Youth Services, Rotary Mysore Midtown Adventure Foundation, Deepak Solanki told The Hindu that the sport inspires its practitioners to "set targets" in their lives.

"It also makes their vision clear," he pointed out.

Regretting that archery is not being patronised as a sport anymore by the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Mr. Solanki said their organisation and the IAMAS are planning to hold similar familiarisation sessions on archery in different schools and colleges in Mysore.

A few schools have evinced interest in holding archery sessions for their students. Pushkarini, a school in the city, is said to have shown interest in introducing a course on archery for students at the school.

"We have three sets of bows and arrows. We can teach the basics of archery at schools evincing interest in the sport," Mr. Solanki said.

The organisations engaged in reviving and popularising the ancient sport have planned to hold an archery camp for students with speech and hearing impairment in the first week of December as part of World Disabled Day.

For more details on archery, contact Deepak Solanki on 9845116835.

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