‘Important to have muscle memory’

n Archery is very environment specific,so can the athletes be trained for that?

First one needs to know what setup of the bow will give you an accurate result. For that you have to train indoors without any wind resistance,so you know that the bow is properly aligned,the arrow is fine and the technique is proper. Based only on that can you build on making things work in the windy condition.

n Is there a specific body type for an archer?

It can always be moulded. They need a lot of training for stability muscles and their strength requirements are pretty high,along with balance.

n Does the training also help them to be steady?

If you look at scores,then Jayant and Deepika are very good. Steadiest,there is no one single test for it. Senior archers generally have better muscle control. I have seen this with the shooters as well. The senior shooters who have been in the sport for a long time tend to have better muscle control than the juniors. It’s the same with archers.

n Does experience play a crucial part?

With experience,with the number of years in the muscles,it all comes with that. The thing is,the muscles don’t mature in boys till about 22,and for girls,about 19. The height increases but the muscles play catch-up. So it takes a little time for the muscles to mature. So a shooter or archer who is about 27 will have better muscle control than someone who is 21-22. But that doesn’t mean the older player will shoot better. Shooting requires the neck talent,understanding the situation,controlling pressure.

n The Korean players said that it’s not much about what you see,and more about muscle memory. Can that be worked on?

Practice is everything. They work a lot on it. At times they do night training,because at night,all you can see is the target and not the arrow’s flight path. So you aren’t moving yourself to how the arrow is flying and then you are technically correct. Deepika had explained this to me. But it is important to have muscle memory. You need to know if you have pulled the string to the right extent,whether it is sitting where you want it. There has to be a lot of emphasis on the feeling they get when they hold the bow and when they release it.

n East Asian countries send their athletes to snake pits for training. Is that some kind of training one would require?

I would rather work with a performance trainer,like Vaibhav Agashe to help them improve concentration,focus and competition condition.

n From what you have seen of them,mentally who are the ones that are more composed?

The top 4 guys and top 4 girls because they have been in competition. Until you get the pressure of competition you cannot get that composed. Deepika,if you see her training,she is superb. 100% focus,no time pass.