Aiming high | Maiidan | wavemag.com.np

ANUP PRAKASH

The mention of shooting arrows may conjure up thoughts of cowboys and Native Americans roaming the Old West or imagery of idyllic characters tasked with stealing money from the rich to give to the poor or bringing lovers together, but arrow shooting as a sport is earning a reputation of its own. No longer exclusive to Robin Hood and Cupid, athletes from Nepal are picking up their own bows and arrows. The sport, known as archery, has finally gained both female and male representation in Nepal and the players are already standing their own ground in multinational competitions.

Yasodha Rai first picked up a bamboo bow in August 2007 after meeting Rathin Dutta. Dutta came to Nepal from India to promote the sport amongst females and coincidentally met Yasodha through her father's travel agency. The 2nd South Asian Archery Championship was already set to take place in Jhamshedpur, Kolkata in March 2008 and Dutta had a sincere passion to see a co-ed team represent Nepal in the event. Dutta donated a few bamboo bows to kick start the program and encouraged Yasodha to train for the tournament. Already an avid sports player, it didn't take much to convince Yasodha to participate.

Yasodha teamed up with three veteran women archers from Pokhara and began regular training. The women trained alongside men under coach and fellow teammate, Prem Prasad Pun at the Dasrath Rangashala. Lack of a proper training ground forced the team to train midday under the intense squelching heat. "We need more than 90 meters to practice" Yasodha explains, "We can't train in the mornings or evenings because the stadium is packed with other athletes training in various other sports." Bystanders must be taken into consideration because it could be dangerous if there isn't enough space or if the archer isn't alert.

After months of enduring the heat, the team felt ready to represent Nepal in the 5-country tournament and their feeling was right; they were ready. Collectively, the team snagged 16 medals – just one less than India, the tournament's top performers. "Before we left for India, so many people from the media were asking me how it felt to represent Nepal, but at that time I just thought, 'who cares' and I didn't feel anything," Yasodha confesses. Ask her that now and she'll tell you different, "When I was standing there in front of people from so many other places and everyone was looking at our team and how well we performed, I felt honoured to be the one representing Nepal. It was almost a spiritual moment for me."

Going to India alongside 20 teammates was Yasodha's first time on a big trip without her family. "It was really quite an experience," she smiles. "We started training as strangers but by the end of the tournament we had all become good friends." Although still a relatively unknown sport, archery has a promising future in Nepal. Tribhuvan University has already donated a piece of land for the sport to use as a proper training area. "Once the necessary funds are collected we are going to start training with the modern bow – the same kinds used in the Olympics," Yasodha adds with a smile. "Who knows, by 2012, Nepal might even send athletes to represent the sport."