Back to happy hunting ground

It has been eight years since he first had a feel of the bow and an arrow,though archery was never his first choice sport —rather,he always yearned for another shooting sport. Having lived in a village near Vijaywada,he moved to town along with his mother to pursue his career with the gun but due to lack of facilities and monetary constraints,he had to content himself as an archer.

“My mother always wanted me to pick up a sport,so what if I couldn’t become a top shooter. Thankfully I worked hard to become an archer and delivered upon her expectations. Sometimes its hard to believe that after just four years of taking archery seriously,I had won my first bronze in sub-junior in 2006 and then went on to claim the CWG silver in the team event,” says Jignas. “It is like a dream come true for my mother.”

It has been a year since Jignas visited his home — his archery tournaments and preparatory camps kept him busy the whole of last year and with senior nationals,nationals and World championships next in fray,2011 promises to be a hectic affair as well. Jignas feels the junior nationals is a good platform to build up for the big events. “Many people say that why I am I playing this tournament since I represent India now,but the thing is continuity. Archery needs a lot of practice and I would say that I am lucky to get tournaments. Winning boosts up the morale and pushes you to better your performance,” adds Jignas who idolises Deepika Kumari.

Participating in the junior nationals also holds an extra charm. Jignas was happy to oblige every single request for an autograph while giving a broad smile and a nice pose for every photograph. The CWG silver had certainly capulated him into an overnight hero but he still remembers the time when he went after seeking an autograph from Olympians Mangal Singh and Tarundeep Rai in 2004. “Obviously,it is a moment to relish when someone comes and asks for an autograph or a picture. But at the same time,it is a pressure situation because you know that your performance has to be constantly good. Once your performance goes down,no one will come for an autograph,” Jignas says candidly.

Despite his grand success,2010 will always remain a low point in his life as he lost his coach C Lenin in a tragic road accident. It was difficult for the teenager to get out of the trauma of losing his mentor and switching on to another for the sake of his career. “Lenin sir was a great coach. He had fine-tuned me to reach a certain level. But life has to move on. You can’t stick to one place. It was difficult for me to move on but then the family support strengthened me to continue with archery,” he says,adding that he now represents SSCB under the tutelage of Mim Gurung.