For Chauhan,WC silver a stepping stone to success

Take a bow:after impressing at asian level,Rajasthan Archer fulfills promise on world stage

Rajat Chauhan still remembers his humble beginnings when he took his first steps in archery at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. There was no shed for the archers to take refuge from the harsh sun. The targets had to be reinforced with rubber tubes at the back to stop arrows flying through it.

There was no grass on the field then,the surface was all rocky. SMS has changed a lot now, says the latest name to join the roll of honour of the Archery Association of India AAI after winning a World Cup silver last week.

Incidentally,the Rajasthan Sports Council has all but finished a new facility for the archers and Chauhan hopes that the improved infrastructure will help him add to his compound mixed team silver won by combining with senior archer Manjuda Soy. For the record,the 19-year-old beat top-ranked Korean Min Lihong in the qualification rounds.

Chauhan switched to the compound category in the 2009-10 season and trained under Jayanti Lal Nanoma,a former India international. While the results kept coming in the junior and sub-junior category,what really catapulted him to the senior team was his eye-catching performance at the 2012 Senior National Championships that was held in Jamshedpur.

He won a double gold with a perfect score of 150/150. In his first International event,the first Asian Grand Prix that was held in Bangkok in February last year,Chauhan had an impressive medal haul.

He won gold in the men8217;s compound team event and won the mixed team gold and finished behind teammate Ch Jignas for silver in the individual event.

But the latest silver medal dwarfs all his previous achievements. Everybody knows me know now. I am happy with the recognition, Chauhan said.

Future tense

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Adulation apart,Chauhan is a worried about his academics. In the latest setback,he once again failed to clear the Class XII board exams.

I had to skip the last two examinations because it was clashing with tournaments, said the Vinayak Public Sr Secondary School.

I Got poor marks in English and political science this time. I will have to be at least a Standard XII pass out to get a job. I want to be a graduate,but as things stand today it is long way off.

National ranking tourney

The third National-ranking archery tournament gets underway at the Yamuna Sports Complex with the qualification rounds in both recurve and compound disciplines on Friday. This would be the first time after the 2010 Commonwealth Games that a significant tournament is being held at the venue.

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The three-day prize money tournament gains significance from the fact that the selection of the Indian teams for the third and fourth World Cup and the Indian junior team for the second Asian Grand Prix will be selected based on performance.

The top-four finishers in each category will make the automatic cut,while junior archers who top the tournament will be selected for the 2nd Asian Grand Prix to be held in Mongolia.

The third World Cup is to be held in Medellin,Columbia from July 15 to 21 July,while the fourth World Cup will be held in Wroclaw,Poland,from August 19-25. Top-eight finishers will be awarded cash prizes. A total of 126 archers,including Deepika Kumari,L Bombayla Devi,Jayanta Talukdar and Rahul Banerjee would be participating in the three-day event.