Chennai, Sep 19 (PTI) He may no longer be the India No. 1 recurve archer, but the seasoned Atanu Das is fully aware of the responsibility of not only bringing out the best in him but also the team as they look to overcome the Asian Games ‘jinx’.
Recurve archery, an Olympic discipline, has been on a downward spiral and its slide has ironically coincided with the rise in the compound section, where India now boast of two recently-crowned world champions in Ojas Deotale and Aditi Swami.
With the postponed Asian Games taking place just a year before the Paris Olympics, the pressure is more on recurve where no archer is inside the top-10 in world rankings.
India have not won a recurve medal, individual or team, since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
Das, who is set for a third Asian Games participation, is the senior-most archer in the recurve team, which will have promising Army man Dhiraj Bommadevara and the rookie duo of Mrinal Chauhan and Tushar Shelke.
In the women’s section, two-time Asian Games participant Ankita Bhakat will have the company of Simranjeet Kaur, Bhajan Kaur and Prachi Singh.
“I am very much aware of my responsibilities to the team, and everyone is following my footsteps and guidance. So, the Games will be smooth for the team and individuals also,” Das told
Source: PTI News
