AP archers hit bull’s eye
Their much-reverred Anna may not be there with them anymore, but that did not deter the state archers to come up with a creditable performance in the recently concluded 31st junior national archery champioships in New Delhi. The Andhra Pradesh archery team bagged 5 golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronze medals in the competition.
The star of the show was undoubtedly Ritul Chatterjee who won four golds, one silver and a bronze in the event. “It would have been great had Anna (Coach Lenin) been around. We missed him very much,” said an emotional Ritul, currently undergoing selection trials for the senior nationals to be held in Vijayawada from February 5 and 10. Others to perform commendably in the meet include M. Chiranjeevi, Charan Reddy, Jyothi Sureka, Sai Vaishnavi and Anusha Reddy. While Charan, Chiranjeevi and Ritul won silver in the team compound event, Anusha (a bronze), Sai Vaishnavi (a silver and a bronze) and Jyothi Surekha (a gold and two silvers) too made their presence felt.
On the performance of the team, Ritul said, “We were in good form going into the meet. To a large extent, I carried the confidence gained with my silver-winning performance during the Commonwealth Games.”
Asked if the 2012 Olympics in London were on his mind, Ritul said, “At the moment, the 31st senior nationals to take place in Vijayawada in February remain my next target. Lenin Anna always wanted us to take one step at a time and that’s what I am doing.”
Ritul is part of the Indian archery probables for the World Junior Championships which will take place in Poland later this year. Others from the state include M. Chiranjeevi, Y. Anusha Reddy, Jyothi Surekha and Sai Vaishnavi.
While the archers have taken fate’s verdict with a pinch of salt, their stupendous show in the Nationals will stand them in good stead in their upcoming events.
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