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Know
Your Sports - ARCHERY |
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Whether it is for hunting, war, or
sport, the goal of archery is the same: to shoot arrows at a
distant target. At first a hunting weapon, the bow and arrow
became a weapon of war around 3000 B.C. This use continued until
the Renaissance, when it was made obsolete by the first
firearms. In the 19th century, the medieval Companies of Archers
returned to fashion - no longer to do battle, but to parade and
demonstrate their skill at target shooting. Archery slowly
became a true sport, practiced mainly in northern France, where
the Fédération française de tir à l'arc was founded in 1928,
followed, three years later, by the International Archery
Federation (FITA) in Poland. In spite of a brief appearance at
the Olympics (1900 for men, 1904 for women, then 1908 and 1920
for both of them), archery became popular only after 1960, and
it returned to the Games in 1972 for both men and women. Only
target archery is an Olympic event, in four competitions; for
men and women, either individual or in teams of three. The
target archery world championships, created in 1931, have been
held every two years since 1975. |
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The Competition:
Archers must shoot their arrows as close as possible to the center
of a target located at a set distance. Several disciplines are
recognized by the FITA, each with its own rules concerning the
distance, number of arrows, type of target and equipment. In the
Olympics and world championships, archers shoot a total of 144
arrows at 4 distances, starting with the longest, for a maximum of
1440 points. The 64 best archers
then shoot with 3 ends of 6 arrows. The best 8 go to the finals,
where they compete one on one with 4 ends of 3 arrows. The
competition for the gold medal involves 2 archers alternatively
shooting 4 ends or 3 arrows. All ends are shot at a distance of 70
m. Time limits are indicated by colored lights and sound signals. |
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Technique: The archer has perfect control of his movements
to the point that he automatically repeats each of the gestures in
the shooting sequence. From taking the bow in hand to the
follow-through takes between 15 and 20 seconds, during which the
archer is oblivious to everything around him and concentrates on
his sequence.
India's quiver of joy was brimming when ace archer Jayanta
Talukdar did the country proud by striking gold at the first leg
of the four-leg World Championships at Porec, Croatia. Talukdar,
who had gone into the semifinal as an underdog against top seed
Marco Galiazzo of Italy, shocked everyone by not only winning the
semi final but also clinching the gold medal. Talukdar beat Magnus
Petersson by a three-point margin (108-105) to bag the top honours
in the event, which is being held for the first time to determine
international rankings. |
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Though surprising,
this sort of success is not a rare feat for Talukdar - he had won
a silver medal in the junior World Championships in Manchester in
2004 and he was also a part of the Indian senior team that won
silver in the World Championship in Madrid in 2005. Talukdar's
fine show is also a big boon for the Archery Association of India
as his first place finish helped India to the fourth place in the
nation's ranking with 45 points. The top 10 nations, determined by
adding the points won by the top four archers from a country, will
win prizes ranging from $15000 to $100000 at the end of the fourth
World Cup in Shanghai. |
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Looking Ahead & Beyond
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Mahindra United takes Mumbai Football to a new high
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Cooperage will always be HAPPY HUNTING ground for
Air India. The future of Mumbai football has taken a
big leap forward. The game is certainly looking up
now when the two giants of Mumbai football Mahindra
United and Air India had performed extremely well in
the 10th NFL. While Mahindra United lifted the 10th
NFL title for the first time ever with their classic
display of firepower - Air India showed their
tenacity and the tough stuff that they are made of -
physically and mentally. |
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This was clearly evident
when Air India fought tooth and nail at the Cooperage ground to
ward off relegation in the concluding matches against East
Bengal (1-1) and Salgaocar SC (1-0). On the other hand -
Mahindra United with a galaxy of stars functioned effectively
with great team effort and worked towards its outlined goals.
All this augers well for Mumbai football in the coming season.
Looking ahead the two local giants will now have to maintain the
stability and even enhance the teams with stronger and fitter
players in order to uphold the image created in the country.
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Bob Houghton
Appointed Indian Football Coach |
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For the good of
the game the All India Football Federation (AIFF) appointed
Englishman Bob Houghton as coach of the Indian football team.
Being conversant with English was one of the criteria in the
search for Syed Nayeemuddin's successor. The other was
familiarity with Asian conditions and the ability to rebuild
the national side. Houghton referred to Indian football as a
sleeping giant but had said that if given a long tenure and a
chance to work with the youth teams he can put Indian football
back on track. Looking ahead the Asian Games in Qatar by
year-end will be the real acid test for Bob Houghton. Even
though he appears to be a man with rich experience of having
coached China and Uzbekistan, he will have to prove his
credentials here.
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I for one think
that the future of Indian football will be greatly benefitted
and appreciated if the AIFF starts a National Football Academy.
It is pertinent to tackle the game at the grass root level. It
will offset the load which the Tata Football Academy is facing
mainly in terms of producing quality players. In more ways than
one - the National Academy will also kick-start professionalism
in the country. Young talented players between 16 and 20 age
group should form the nucleus of a second string to support the
seniors. For the benefit of all - the Academy must also organize
and conduct clinics, courses, and workshops for Football State
Secretaries, organizing committees, coaches, players, Referees,
Instructors and Referees in order to function smoothly and
effectively. If the AIFF takes appropriate action in this
connection - there is no reason why India should not find its
place among the top teams in Asia in the near future. |
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