VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada, the city of victory, has welcomed home another one of its own. Dhiraj Bommadevara returned from the Asian Games with two silver medals, an Asian Games record and a smile that was hard to miss. For the Vijayawada archer who won a silver at the previous edition, the haul marked another step forward.
“I feel so good, so happy about it. It is an upgrade from the last Asian Games where I won one silver. This time I won two silvers and also broke the Asian Games record. It really motivates me that I can do more and bring more glory to our country,” Dhiraj said.
The record came in the men’s recurve qualification, where he shot 698 out of 720. Having competed on the World Cup circuit for the last few years, Dhiraj is familiar with many of his opponents. He said, the focus has to remain on the job.
“We know each other pretty well, but the beauty of archery is that you have to focus on the game no matter who is on the other side. You have to focus on yourself, do your job right and stay calm,” he said.
His individual campaign ended with a 3-7 loss to Lee Woo-Seok in semifinals. Though teammate Neeraj Chauhan beat Dhiraj 6-4 to win bronze, Dhiraj said he was happy the medal stayed with India. As he spoke about the team and its willingness to learn from one another, Dhiraj broke into laughter and cited a dialogue from a Hindi film: “Ye naya Bharat hai!”
“When I see my family and coaches after coming back with medals and I see their faces after my win, that motivates me. It makes me feel that all the hard work and sacrifices have paid off,” he said. The medals were won on the Asian stage. But bringing them back to Vijayawada, Dhiraj said, makes the achievement feel complete.
