It has been a good start of the year for Laishram Bombayla Devi as she not only won the gold at the recently concluded 32nd Senior National Archery Championship at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur and also set a new national record in 60m event. Preparing hard for the London Olympics, Bombayla Devi says that the archers have to be at the peak of their forms if they want to win medals in the Olympics. In an interview to Avinash Kr. Dhar of Indian Sports News, Bombayla Devi talks her Olympics preparation, development of archery as a game and many more. EXCERPTS:
ISN: You will be representing India for the second time in the Olympics. What are your expectations in London Olympics?
Bombayla Devi: I feel honoured to be representing India in Olympics. For any athlete, Olympics is the ultimate event to show their talent and make their country feel proud. So, it feels great. Our team is performing well. We are doing well in both team and individual events. And we are still putting our best efforts and hopeful of winning medals for our country. Though we have tough competitors in China and Korea, but we are also World No. 2 in the rankings and we have done well in the last games played. And there is always chance of improvement as an individual and team. So we are now mainly focussing on our games rather than thinking of medals. Medals will automatically come later if we perform well on the given day by giving our best to outplay others.
ISN: In the last event at Asian Grand Prix, your team reached the finals but were defeated by China. So how is your team taking the new challenge of winning medals in Olympics and how is the team preparation going on?
Bombayla Devi: In Bangkok we were defeated by China with a difference of only three points. We are practicing more and more to make sure that we are not going to repeat the same mistakes that we committed earlier. We are working on our mistakes day and night. We had a chance of winning the game but luck is also needed. But our coaches are making us prepare for the next challenge and we are working hard on improving our game. And this time we are hopeful of winning gold for our nation.
ISN: What is coach Limba Ram and Ravi Shankar preparing players for the mega event?
Bombayla Devi: Both our coaches are supporting us well. They are also working hard with us to make sure that we can win gold for our nation. They take regular practice sessions in the morning and evening. Apart they tell our mistakes and the way to correct and improve them.
ISN: In the nation where sport like cricket is given more popularity, what do you think about the future of archery and what is government doing for the game?
Bombayla Devi: Though game like cricket is more popular and people like to watch, but future of archery in coming days is bright. Now the scenario is changing. Government, Sports Authority of India and other federations of India are helping us with the facilities and equipments. And day by day we are also improving the levels of our game and bringing it to the masses. Olympic Gold Quest and Mittal Sports Trust are also doing a lot to provide us facilities and equipments so that we can excel and do well. They send us for various trainings and make us available with new equipments because these equipments are not available in India. So everyone is supporting now. Though it will take some time, but we are hopeful that archery will also become popular.
ISN: What do you think about the infrastructure of archery in India?
Bombayla Devi: Infrastructure is improving day by day. Many academies have been opened. We have Tata Academy and one in Manipur which is helping the players and youths to come to this game and to teach them about the game and to make them a better player. These academies are ensuring that they have all the facilities and equipments to upbring new talents.
ISN: When did you take archery as your career? Which is your best performance so far now?
Bombayla Devi: I started playing archery from 1996 and became a part of the Indian team in 2006. My best performance was in 2007 when I got my first medal. I felt really happy at that time because in 2006, I went to Bangladesh to play my first Internationals but won my first individual medal in 2007.
ISN: You take part in both individual and team event in recurve archery, so which one do you think is more difficult? And which one do you prefer?
Bombayla Devi: See, whether it’s team or individual event both the formats are not easy to play. Any game is not easy. But what we have to do is to give our hundred percent. And about my preference I love to play both the formats of the game.
ISN: Who is your motivation for the game?
Bombayla Devi: My mother is my motivation as she herself was an archer. And I learn a lot watching Dola Banerjee.
