Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Rishitha makes State proud

J. R. Shridharan

Wins silver medal in team event in world junior archery championship at Mexico

BANG ON TARGET: M. Rishitha in action. — PHOTO: RAJU V.

VIJAYAWADA: It is a moment to cherish for the sports administrators of Vijayawada for young Mandava Rishitha, a 17-year-old student of Sri Chaitanya College, won a silver medal in the 9th world junior archery championship, which concluded at Merida (Mexico) early this week.

Rishitha, who dabbled in kabaddi, switched over to archery last year. Relentless effort and spirited guidance by her coach Ch. Lenin made her achieve laurels for the State and the country proud by notching up the coveted medal in her maiden international competition. Rishitha was part of the Indian junior women team, which won silver in the compound 70-metre segment by losing to the US in the final.

Father inspiration

The team consisting of Sweety Kumasi, Rishitha Mandava and Niva Kerketta shot a total of 202 in the compound event final to finish second. Sports come naturally to Rishitha as her father M. Koteswara Rao, a physical trainer at SRR & CVR College, has inspired his young daughter to plunge into active sports. Says District Sports Development Officer B. Sudhakar: "The concerted efforts of Krishna District Archery Association have begun to bear fruit as many archers from the district have begun to prove their mettle in the world meets."

Despite the absence of quality SAI or SAAP coach, city archers with the assistance of the senior archers, are keen on carving a niche for themselves. "A permanent coach will help archers to improve their performance in the world meets. Now that Krishna District is producing many quality archers, the Government should evince more interest towards development of archery," felt Ch. Lenin.

Trained in Volga Archery Academy, Rishitha made her foray in the national scene by finishing 14th in the school national held at Amaravati (Maharasthra) in 2005. She was selected for the Mexico tournament based on her stupendous show at the 2nd ranking tournament for World Cup selection trial held at Jamshedpur in 2006.

Says Ch. Lenin, her coach: "Rishita is certainly an Olympic medal prospect, as there is a move to introduce compound segment in the forthcoming Olympics," he felt.

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