Let’s compound it at LA 2028!

Jyothi Vennam; (right) India’s gold medal-winning archer Ojas Deotale in China. Pics/PTI

India's Jyothi Vennam and Ojas Deotale completed a unique feat, becoming the only Indian athletes to bag three gold medals each at these Asian Games, when they won the women's and men's individual compound archery events at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre on Saturday.

While Jyothi, who had previously won gold in the women's and mixed team events, beat Korea's Chaewon So 149-145, Deotale, who had won the men's and mixed team gold previously, beat compatriot Abhishek Verma 149-147 in cold and rainy conditions. The weather conditions mirrored the treatment compound archery gets from the Olympic family. The reason compound archery is not part of the Olympics is because compound bows, unlike mixed recurve bows, offer a mechanical advantage to the archer. This is also the reason why recurve archers in India are well known while compound archers have remained in the shadows.

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All this can change at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics though, considering compound bows were invented in the USA back in the 1960s. Used primarily for hunting initially, it slowly shifted towards competitive sport and was eventually included at the World Archery Championships in 1995.

Olympic medal aim

India's compound family is desperately waiting for that Olympic exclusion sooner than later. "The decision to include compound archery at the Olympics is pending for some time now. I hope it is taken soon and it becomes part of the Los Angeles Olympics. Winning an Olympic medal for our country will be great," said Jyothi, 27, a computer engineer, who is employed as Deputy Collector with the Andhra Pradesh government.

Maharashtra archer Deotale, 21, echoed his teammate's sentiments. "Our target is the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028," +he said.

Historic moment

Indian archery's High Performance Director Sanjeeva Kumar Singh added: "There's a strong possibility that compound archery can be included at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. And if it is, we will surely win an Olympic gold medal in it. Compound archery is doing exceptionally well in India. This is the first time in the history of the Asian Games that we have won all five gold medals in compound archery."

Just because the compound bow is mechanical, it doesn't that mean the effort that goes into the sport, is any less.

Deotale explained: "In Satara, where I train, we are totally cut off from the rest of the world. My coach Pravin Sawant has made a shed at the ground itself, where he and his family live. We archers also train and sleep there. At one end of the ground, there are targets and on the other is the shed. We are connected to archery 24x7. I have been doing this continuously all these years. I don't go back home. The archery ground is my first home. My second home is where my parents live."

Jyothi preferred to conclude on a positive note. "I started compound archery in 2007. The growth of compound in India has only been upwards since then. I have been practicing very hard and finally think the good time for compound archers has finally come. But this hasn't happened in an instant. This is because we've been working hard for so many years," she said.