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Jharkhandi girl wins gold medal in Youth World Archery in the U.S.

noreply@blogger.com (Jharkhand Blog) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:12:00 +0000

Deepika Kumari of India won the cadet recurve women's gold medal to emerge as the World champion. Sanjay Boro too won the bronze medal play-off to occupy No. 3 position in the cadet recurve men's event of the 11th Youth World Archery Championship at Ogden (Utah) in the U.S. on Sunday.

This was the second time that India was winning a World title in archery. Palton Hansda won it for the first time in 2006 at Merida (Mexico) by winning the junior compound individual gold medal in the ninth edition of the world championship.

Dola Banerjee had emerged the champion of the World Cup in 2007 but winning the title at the World Championship was the greatest honour for an archer.

Cadet category is for archers under the age of 16 and junior category is for those under the age of 18.

Deepika, a tribal girl from Jharkhand, and a product of Tata Archery Academy at Jamshedpur, was consistent throughout the championship. The fourth-seeded Indian had scored 115 out of 120 in the quarterfinals, 112 in the semifinals and in the final she shot 115 points to beat her 10th ranked Russian opponent Sayana Tsyrempilova, who managed 109, according to information received here on Monday.

To make the day the most productive for the small Indian contingent at the venue, Sanjay Boro from Assam and seeded seventh too showed enough promise early on to win the bronze medal beating 29th ranked Antonio Hector Smith of Mexico 110-105.

In all, the 29-member Indian contingent won one gold and two bronze medals as against two silver medals in 2008 at Kundu-Antalya (Turkey). The Indian contingent had won one gold and three silver medals, by far the best haul, at Merida (Mexico) in 2006.

Deepika was unstoppable since the moment she shot her first arrow into the nine ring. The first end of thee arrows fetched her 29 points, the second end of three also earned her 29. Only in the third she shot two 9s and a 10 for 28 points but by then she had 6 point lead (86-80) going into the last end of three arrows. A 9, 10, 10 by the Indian ensured the historical finish.

Indian Archery Association / July 20, 2009

Jhalmuri Journey of a Jharkhandi Ladki

noreply@blogger.com (Jharkhand Blog) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:31:00 +0000

Muri is one of those easily-forgettable, falling-off-the-map kind of nondescript places. It was my first proper venture into Jharkhand and I looked forward to it with a gusto everyone around me found completely unwarranted and unsettling. The manner in which I managed to find projects in farflung areas baffled all. My family wrung their hands in despair as harried wellwishers rattled off tales of naxalite horrors. M, (my "expedition partner") and I shrugged nonchalantly. One's got to do what one's got to do. Period.

After a week of another set of utterly worthless exams, I looked forward to some Jharkhandi respite. The trip began. With an ill omen. Some days just don't go right. The India-Australia match got washed out. The auto guy tried to fleece us thinking we were not from Delhi (that's a new one). AND we missed our train. After a dhakkemaar journey in a snail-paced, fungus-infested train, we finally reached Muri.

As I got off the station, I was struck by the common-placedness of the rickety little town (yes i have this annoying habit of making up words when I can't find the right ones). Had I expected Jharkhand to be a new land? With different people peeing along the tracks? Different calamities facing them? Different trees and birds? Different houses lining the roads? Different potholes in those roads? Different smells? As the days passed by, it sunk in. No matter where you go, the essential being of a people is the same.

The trees will rustle in the wind. Dogs will stretch their paws, yawning the days away. Cows will eject humungous piles of dung. The mud will smile each time the rain tickles her. People will make small talk about the weather, no matter how many fields they have ploughed or how many daughters they have left to marry off. I will miss my mother and not be able to remember the last time I hugged her. The clouds will pout into unexpected shapes against the blue blue sky. And children will ride their bicycles through all the puddles.

I find myself on a train again, rattling away from this land of the obscure to a land where obscurity is one thing you strive too hard to get. –

Jharkhandi Ladki

Jhalmuri" (jhal = mirchi/chilli + muri = puffed rice)

a papercone full of firey chillis, pungent mustard oil and scruffy fingers

Suriyamani - The Jharkhandi Forest Activist

noreply@blogger.com (Jharkhand Blog) — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Laxmirani Majhi, the Archer from Bagula village, West Singhbhum in Jharkhand

noreply@blogger.com (Jharkhand Blog) — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:43:00 +0000

'Education has made me who I am today – it was because I went to school that I was chosen to train as an archer. Now I compete internationally, I travel the world.' – Laxmirani Majhi, Archer

Laxmirani Majhi is an archer who competes in international level competitions for India. When Laxmi was young, her family knew the most important thing was for Laxmi to go to school; many girls in Laxmi's village did not go to school. Today, Laxmi has won so many archery competitions that she has been awarded the position of a cadet by the Tata Sports Academy, in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Laxmi grew up in Bagula village, West Singhbhum in Jharkhand.