CHENNAI: “The wise play for victory, but feel no pain in defeat,” is what renowned Tamil poet Subramania Bharati wrote in “stray thoughts” — his collection of essays and musings in English. While that thought might be termed stray, it is apt for world recurve archery champion and Asian Games silver medallist Dhiraj Bommadevara.
The 25-year-old archer from Vijayawada has enjoyed a brilliant year. He endured a tough start to the year by consecutive fourth round exits in Stages 1 (Puebla, Mexico) and 2 (Shanghai) of the Archery World Cup. But the turnaround in fortunes came in the third stage in Antalya in Turkey, where he won individual gold. That gave him the momentum for the upcoming tournaments. A quarterfinal run in stage four was enough for him to enter the Archery World Cup finals which took place in Mexico in September, just before the Asian Games in Japan. There, he scripted history, becoming the first Indian male champion in recurve archery, almost 19 years after Dola Banerjee won the women’s title.
“I feel like I had this incredible year because of last year,” he told this daily from Hyderabad, where he is representing Mighty Marathas in season two of Archery Premier League.
While last season may have been challenging for him (he ended with an Asian individual title), it is years like those that have helped him learn. “I learned a lot from the tournaments which I have lost. I worked hard but I did not have the expected results. I learnt how to keep myself patient, trust myself more,” he said, adding that his success is a collective effort from his team.
With the year Dhiraj has had, he believes that it has given him impetus for the next two years, with the LA Olympics in mind. “Going forward, I would like to keep the room of learning open each and every day. That way I can push myself with no limits ahead so that I can keep going,” he said.
While Dhiraj, who trains at the renowned Army Sports Institute, takes grace in defeat, he also has his ways of dealing with the perks of success. “There are two things for me when it comes to success. The first is to accept it. Secondly, I try to forget it. If I lose, there is no room for forgetting. But if I win, there is a lot of room for it. After winning a tournament, I focus on what I have next in my schedule. All these tournaments are stepping stones to the ultimate goal of winning gold in the LA Olympics," he said.
And in this journey of the 25-year-old is someone who has got him out of a tough period. In a time where his family struggled to fund his equipment and results not going his way, his Korean coach Kim Hagyong had got him to the ASI in Pune. Then, Hagyong left India after the Paris Olympics, but returned early the following year. Dhiraj said his coach wants him to be independent. “He always trains me to be an independent archer and to make decisions for myself for every situation.
"Once, I asked him, ‘coach, I need your help, it seems a long way to go,’ he went, ‘What if I’m not in the stands at the Olympic Games? What would you do?,’ then I said, ‘I need to (figure out) myself,’ and then he responded, ‘You need to learn.’ So he always wants me to make decisions for myself, be it the technique, physical and mental aspects, and with the equipment,” he explained.
While the Archery Premier League will be Dhiraj’s last competition for the year, the next two months will be crucial for him, as the senior national championships are scheduled for next month. “The next season depends a lot on the next two months with regards to how I prepare, how I push myself, how I train. So, that's what I did last November and December. This time, I have the same plans, but they will be executed with more intensity,” he added.
