Old bow, new high for Indian archers

It is creditable for the Indian recurve trio of Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari and Rimil Buriuly to have shot their second straight Archery World Cup title with equipment they used at the London Olympics. What tilted the scales in their favour in Poland was the presence of Korean coach Lim Chae Woong.

Deepika Kumari

The archers arrived here yesterday to a tepid welcome two days after stunning London Olympics gold medallists South Korea in the World Cup Stage 4 final in Wroclaw, Poland on Sunday. They had defeated China in Stage 3 of the tournament in Medellin, Colombia last month.

Bombayla Devi

Bombayla, the senior-most member of the team, told IANS that Lim made a big difference for them in standing up to a champion side like Korea. "It was a blessing to have him by our side during the tournament. It was very windy in the final and his tips made us shoot really well," Bombayla told IANS after landing in Aurangabad later Tuesday.

Rimil Buriuly

Bombayla however called for new equipment from the Archery Association of India (AAI). "We have no new equipment since the London Olympics. It has been a while since the camp was shifted to Aurangabad and we have been asking for the equipment.

Shooting with used bows is not a major issue, but it becomes really difficulty to get grip with the old arrows. Hopefully, we will get new equipment before the World Championships next month," said Bombayla. AAI assistant secretary Gunjan Abrol said that the they have forwarded the archers' request to the Sports Authority of India.