Former international archers Dola, Rahul open elite academy in Delhi
In what can be termed as homecoming, former India internationals, Dola and Rahul Banerjee, have opened their latest modern centre, DRB Archery Academy, in New
Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The siblings after breaking into the main team honed their skills at the JNS archery venue for some years, attending national camps and opening their academy at the JNS was an emotional moment.
“We have trained at this venue for a number of years and when the opportunity came to open our academy at the very centre that is special to our hearts, we took it with both hands,” former Olympian Dola said at the opening.
Current Olympians Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das, young star Rishabh Yadav and many of the national capital regions coaching and federation officials, including Delhi Archery’s CEO JP Jain and AAI assistant secretary Gunjan Abrol, attended the launch ceremony held on Sunday.
Deepika, who has also joined the DRB along with Atanu, said the new age trainees needed fresher ideas to go with the modern times. “We need such academies. Young archers need to be kept abreast with the times and one I feel can only be accomplished with new age coaches. This is a welcome initiative and everyone is welcome to join us,” Deepika said.
The brain behind the project, Rahul made it clear that their objective was to bring the Indian coaches to a certain standard that the archers’ basic technique can stand the test for years.
“What we have realised is the fact that our Indian archers have to go back and waste time correcting some deficiencies while making into the teams. Elite archers should not have to go through all of that,” Rahul said while explaining the initiative.
“Good, young coaches with sound understanding will help us achieve this goal. And we will end the wait for the elusive Olympic medals. I and many others have been questioned many times by our friends in the media about not returning with the medals. But trust me the sooner we bridge this gap, the better it will be for our team and the country,” he added.
Further, Rahul said his focus would be to look after the training of the elite archers, and he would be travelling to various DRB centres to review the training schedules of academy archers.
Delhi