CHENNAI: Holding the bow in their hands, which is probably twice their size, they draw all their attention and nock the arrow which releases in a flash. Bringing laurels to the country, 12-year-old Bala Abirami and 10-year-old Bala Abinaya were India’s shining stars at the YB Seputeh International U-12 Archery Championship held in Malaysia recently.
They were among the six participants representing India. Abirami bagged the second place while Abinaya bagged the third place.
Coming from a middle-class family in Madurai, taking up an expensive sport like archery wasn’t easy for the girls and their parents. The duo trained on a semi-professional kit for a while before borrowing a professional one from an acquaintance. “In 2016, my school gave me an option to learn archery as an extra-curricular activity. It sparked an interest in me and I started practicing the sport every day. Even after changing schools, I continued the practice.
My parents were supportive and they bought me a semi-professional archery kit. I started training occasionally under Madhan Kumar from Arjuna Archery Federation of Tamil Nadu, a leading archery coach in the state. He trains us when he visits Madurai. It was only through him that we came to know about various state-level and national-level tournaments,” says Abirami.
Unassuming about her victory, Abinaya says, “I used to accompany my sister to her practice sessions. Watching her practice inspired me to take it up too. I started practising this year.”
A month before the tournament, coach Madhan Kumar trained them for three days. After that, they practised at the Madakulam, Madurai, ground from 6 am till evening. Their enthusiasm and strong will helped them win the medals, says their father N Chellapandian, who accompanied them to all the practice sessions. “We acquired an archery board and stand for practice with the help of the coach.
The girls spent the entire day at the ground trying to get better at aiming. Both used to play despite being tired.”This is Abinaya’s first major archery tournament; Abirami has participated in several district-level and state-level games and won laurels. “This was our first-ever tournament outside India. We are excited as well as nervous. We interacted with kids from Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea, and learned about how they trained themselves,” the duo shares.
Lauding their perseverance, Kumar, says, “Their success at this level is an indicator of their calibre and a positive mindset. They will achieve many more laurels in the future.” Arjuna Archery Federation of Tamil Nadu is planning to train more kids in Madurai, he shares.But the sweet success came with bitter challenges. Nurturing a costly sport was not easy for their parents. C Sangeetha, the duo’s mother, says, “The government needs to recognise and support players who excel in it.
The semi-professional kit we bought for our kids cost us about `20,000. However, they could not use it for the international tournament. For the just-concluded tournament, we had borrowed a kit from an acquaintance we came to know through the coach. The travel and accommodation expenses for the tournament were also taken care of by us.
The government should come forward and support sports like archery too. They should improve the infrastructure and provide financial aid to sportpersons,” she shares.But no challenge seems insurmountable for this sister duo who have their eyes on the next destination — the U-12 Archery World Cup, which will be held in China in December 2019. (To support the sisters, call at 9942709782)