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Hyderabadi marksmen qualify for the first European Grand Prix 2005
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Archer Arun Kumar Photo: D Gopalakrishnan.
Archery in Andhra Pradesh got a boost with two of its marksmen, Nachupally Arun Kumar and Syed Shareefuddin, qualifying for the first European Grand Prix 2005 to be held in Antalya, Turkey from May 3 to 8. The 17-member Indian team will leave on May1 for Turkey.
For the Hyderabad-based duo of Arun and Shareefuddin, the recent National Ranking Archery Circuit Tournament in their hometown proved to be a boon, paving the way for their inclusion in the Indian contingent for international competition.
Improved performance
To get the archers accustomed to noisy conditions, the Andhra Pradesh Archery Association arranged for the beating of drums on the final day. Arun was a little distracted initially but soon got used to it.
His scoring that had suffered in the opening rounds, improved substantially thereafter, registering a rise from 103 to 110 out of a possible 120. Arun finished third in the men's compound bow competition with a tally of 110. In a play-off for the third place with teammate Shareefuddin, Arun came out trumps by a solitary point. Incidentally Mitra learnt the ropes from Arun himself, the latter a pioneer in the field of compound bow archery.
Quite sportingly, Arun helped Mitra, whose bowstrings had snapped at the Bangalore camp prior to the Hyderabad event, obtain a friend's bow and compete here.
Arun, found his rhythm in the Hyderabad competition and emerged among the top trio. So comfortable had he got with it that over the past two months, he regularly crossed the 1330 mark. Not content to rest on his laurels, Arun is confident of touching the 1350 mark sooner than later. The Bangalore camp that is continuing should come in handy for improvement of his skills, particularly over the 90-metre distance, where he needs to climb from his current 305 to about 320 plus.
Currently, the Indian senior men's team is ranked fourth in the world and the women's, sixth. At the Asian level, India is only behind world champion Korea among men and fourth among women.
Unemployed and supporting himself with meagre resources, support from the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh or other well-wishers in the form of new equipment or sponsorship should help Arun surmount the many obstacles that block his path to glory.
A. JOSEPH ANTONY
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