Archer Kapil eyes consistency

Former Chandigarh archer Kapil Kumar is preparing for World Championship trials to be held in September

Last month,during the National Ranking Tournament held in New Delhi,a visibly nervous Kapil Kumar was keeping tabs on his scores in the qualifying round in the men’s recurve event. Even though the 26-year-old finished ninth in the event and missed the berth for the World Cup Stage 3 and Stage 4 to be played in Columbia this month and Poland in August respectively,the archer made it to the national camp being held in Aurangabad for preparation of the World Championship to be held in Turkey later this year. The former Chandigarh archer,who now represents Railways,is confident of making the cut for the Indian team for the World Championships to be held in Antalya in October,Turkey,and believes that the next few months would be crucial for him.

It was a tough tournament in Delhi. The conditions were windy and I struggled with my shots. The top four archers qualified for the World Cup and I am disappointed to have failed to make it to the Indian team for the World Cup to be held in Columbia later this month. But such ranking tournaments will provide me with the opportunity to compete against some of the best archers in India. The atmosphere in the national camp in Aurangabad is great and we all are preparing hard for the trials for the World Championships, shared Kapil.

Kapils life as an archer began at the Gurukul Prabhat Ashram in Meerut where he had his first brush with a bow and an arrow. After spending a couple of years in Meerut,Kapil shifted base to Chandigarh and won his first medal for Chandigarh in the junior nationals in 2004. Three years later,Kapil won gold in the All India University Archery Championship while representing Panjab University in Chandigarh.

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His career took off soon after and Kapil made a name for himself by winning team gold in the World Cup Stage 1 and Stage 3 held in Dominican Republic in 2009.

At that time,Kapil spent his time at SAI Delhi but whenever he was in Chandigarh,he would go straight to the Lake Club,Chandigarh,to train under coach Vikas Shastri.

I started archery in Meerut and soon shifted to Chandigarh. The gold medal in the AIU meet in 2007 boosted my confidence and soon I got support from the Mittal Champions Trust. The team gold medals in World Cup Stage 1 and Stage 3 in Dominican Republic in 2009 were something which,I believe,motivated me a lot. Being in the same team as Rahul Bannerjee,Mangal Singh Champia and Jayant Talukdar means a lot and we all share our inputs, shared the archer,who also won a gold medal in the TAFIFA Games in Lithuania last year. Kumar won the gold medal in the individual men’s recurve event and team event in the last year’s nationals held at Chennai.

The archer,who is posted as a junior clerk with the Indian Railways,is hopeful of bagging a berth in the Indian team for the world Championship to be held in Turkey later this year and has been preparing hard for the trials to be held in September later this year.

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The trials for the World Championships will be held in September later this year and I am aiming for a spot in the Indian team for the World Championships. I have won medals in team events and I want to cement my place in the individual events also, said Kapil.

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