Archery Olympic Camp concludes at Paljor Stadium

GANGTOK, 06 June: The 20-day Archery Olympic Camp for the Indian Olympic Archery Team held for the first time in Sikkim concluded here at Paljor Stadium today. Both men’s and women’s teams and even coaches expressed that the camp at Gangtok proved beneficial in preparation of their upcoming competitions.
It may be mentioned here that due to unfavourable weather conditions in Kolkata, the Archery Association of India [AAI] shifted the Archery camp to Paljor Stadium this time.
On the last day of the camp, Sikkim Archery Association president, PHE Minister, TT Bhutia accompanied by general secretary, Dr KB Gurung and other executive members of SAA, expressed their best wishes on behalf of the SAA and the people of Sikkim to the Indian team members and coaches. On the occasion, the president also handed over Site Allotment Order provided by the State government to Arjuna Awardee, Tarundeep Rai, at Lumsey in Tadong “in recognition of his outstanding performance in sports [Archery]”.
The SAA president mentioned that it was a proud moment for Sikkim to host the Olympic camp in the state and it was also a big achievement for the SAA. He further wished the archers luck for the Olympics and World Cup.
Speaking to media persons, Tarundeep expressed his gratitude to the government for the encouragement and support. He mentioned that the camp at Gangtok helped them a lot to practice for around 8 hours in a day which was not possible in Kolkata. He expressed his hope and expectation to qualify for the London Olympics with a better performance in the 3rd Stage of the Archery World Cup Tournament at Ogden in USA. Tarundeep thanked the SAA for supporting the coaching camp.
Likewise, Indian archer, Deepika Kumari, who is on the fifth position in world rankings at present, expressed that the camp at Gangtok would help them to a large extent in the Olympics as the weather conditions in London is similar to that of Gangtok’s. She expressed that Indian women’s team was in good form and would hopefully bag medals for the country in the London Olympics.
Chief Coach, Limba Ram Ahari, also stated that the pleasant weather conditions of Gangtok made long practice sessions possible and further added that such climate would also help archers to store energy and peace of mind.
The Chief Coach also expressed his deep gratitude towards the Sikkim Archery Association for their continuous support and cooperation.
The archers are undergoing training under chief coach, Mr Ahari assisted by coach, Ravi Shankar and coach, Purnima Mahato. The team was also accompanied by physiotherapist, Jaideep Das Choudhuri and masseur Anup Das.
The women’s team comprises of Deepika Kumari, L Bombyala Devi and Chekrovolu Swuro, who have already qualified for the upcoming London Olympics 2012 in the individual and team events. While, the men’s team has Sikkim’s own Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar and Rahul Banerjee, among them only Jayanta Talukdar has qualified for the London Olympic 2012 in the individual category so far. Now, Tarundeep and Rahul have their last chance to qualify for the Olympics in the 3rd Stage of the Archery World Cup Tournament scheduled to be held at Ogden in USA from 17 to 24 June.