The Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Anurag Singh Thakur on Tuesday felicitated the medal-winning Recurve and Compound archers, who bagged laurels for the country from the World Championships Berlin and World Cup 2023 Stage 4 in Paris. The international tournaments were held this August.

While India bagged a total of 5 medals (2 gold, 3 bronze) in Paris, a total of 4 medals (3 gold, 1 bronze) were clinched in the Berlin event.

On Tuesday, a total of 13 archers were present in the felicitation ceremony, including history makers Aditi Gopichand Swami and Ojas Pravin Deotale. While Aditi, a Khelo India athlete, became not only the youngest Archery World Champion but also became the first Indian woman to win Gold in the World Championships, Ojas Pravin Deotale became the first Indian male archer to win a gold in the Archery World Championships.

Addressing the talented archers, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur mentioned, “I want to congratulate all of you for your performance. The research team has analysed your performance and I am happy that your trend of good results is continuing.”

Mentioning about the beautiful bonhomie shared by the archers in the camp, Shri Thakur added, “The team spirit is all that matters and I am proud to note that not only coaches but also the seniors helped the juniors in shaping mental toughness and preparedness. The way a seasoned senior like Abhishek Verma motivated, inspiring and kept guiding a youngster like Ojas Pravin during the competition is commendable.

“The road ahead is long with Asian Games, Olympic Qualifier events and finally leading to Paris Olympics. All these tournaments are very important. A medal has all of us Indians’ feelings and a simple medal opens up the possibilities for many successes,” the Hon’ble Minister added.

Some of the other archers who were a part of the event on Tuesday included Target Olympic Podium Scheme athletes Dhiraj Bommadevara, Bhajan Kaur, Simranjeet Kaur and Ankita Bhakat.

*****

NB/SK/UD