Asian Games Champion Makes 'Special' Appeal to International Olympics Committee
Indian archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam, who made history at the recently held Asian Games, made a humble plea to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
SputnikWorld champion and three-time Asian Games gold medalist Jyothi Surekha Vennam has urged the IOC to include compound archery in the Olympics.
At present, compound archery is not part of the greatest sports spectacle in the world and only recurve archers participate in the quadrennial event after a highly competitive qualification process held under the supervision of the
World Archery Federation.
Vennam's special appeal to the IOC, the authority behind the organization of the world's top multi-sport event, comes days after cricket was included in the Olympics and will now feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The last time cricket was part of the Olympics
was in 1900, when Great Britain and France claimed gold and silver medals in the men's competition, the only cricketing event at the Paris Games at the time.
Public's Opinion Causes Pain to Archers
"Whenever athletes meet people, the first question that they generally ask is when are you going to the Olympics. This hurts me because my event [compound archery] is not a part of the Olympics", Vennam said in an interview with Sputnik India.
"It hurts more because when you are doing well for the country but are not able to participate in the Olympics, people point fingers at you and jump to the conclusion that you are not a good athlete", she added.
However, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making a strong
push for hosting the 2036 Olympics in India, the 27-year-old reigning World Champion in compound archery is optimistic that the sport will find a place in the Olympics soon.
"As an archer, I would like to see compound archery included in the Olympics. This would fulfill my long cherished dream of representing India in the Olympics", she underlined.
Modi's Words Motivate Athletes
Vennam also spoke about how PM Modi's words of encouragement and his frequent interactions have helped Indian athletes to do well in prestigious events such as the Asian Games.
"Before we leave to participate in competitions, the prime minister motivates us, encourages us to do well and when we return, he congratulates us in person. It really feels good that the leader of our country is recognising our efforts and it spurs us to do even better", the Andhra Pradesh-born athlete stressed.
Making Waves in Another Sport
Interestingly, during her childhood, Vennam earned fame in a completely different sport - swimming.
She started swimming when she was three years old, and a year later found a place in the Limca Book of Records as the youngest
individual to cross the Krishna River.
Nevertheless, she opted for archery after her parents, especially her father, found that swimming facilities in Challapalli, her hometown in India's eastern state of Andhra, were not that good. This is how Vennam became an archer at the age of 11 in 2007.
"[My parents] knew my strengths and weaknesses as I was a very focused child and archery demands a high level of focus, so maybe it played a part in my parents' choice - to push me into archery", she explained.
Poster Girl of Indian Archery
Since then, she hasn't looked back and it would be no exaggeration to describe her as the poster girl of Indian archery, considering she is the reigning world champion.
But Vennam underplayed her Asian Games accomplishments and credited her teammates
Ojas Pravin Deotale, Aditi Swami, and Parneet Kaur for her gold medals in the mixed team and women's team events.
Besides the two gold medals in team events, she also bagged the yellow metal in the individual women's recurve competition.
Teammates Behind Asian Games Success
"My success at the Asian Games would not have been possible if my teammates had not backed me to the hilt. In a team sport, the credit is always shared equally. After all, a team can only win through the joint efforts of players", she emphasized.
"If Ojas, Aditi, and Parneet had not fared well at the Asian Games, we would not have won so many gold medals there. Hence, I would like to dedicate all my medals to my teammates", Vennam concluded.
History of Archery in Olympics
At next year's Paris Olympics, the five events that are scheduled to be held in the French capital are individual recurve competitions for both men and women, the mixed team recurve, and the men's and women's team recurve.
Recurve, archery's traditional version, has been an Olympic event since 1972.
Meanwhile, compound archery, the modern version of archery, has
never made it to the Olympics despite being a regular fixture at the World Archery Championships.
Difference Between Recurve and Compound Archery
"A compound bow, on the other hand, has more bells and whistles. These feature pulleys, cables, a magnifying lens depending on the archer’s preference along with a release switch. These add-ons contribute to more power and precision but make the compound bow a lot heavier", it noted.
"The biggest difference between the two forms of archery stems from the type of bow used. The ends of a recurve bow at the upper limb and the lower limb curve away from the archers after curving inwards, hence the name 'recurve'", according to the entry in the official Olympics website on the oldest form of archery.