Two of the para-archers trained and groomed at the Shri Mata Vaishnodevi (SMVD) Sports Complex at Katra have brought laurels to the country by winning five medals, including three gold, one silver and bronze, at the Para Archery World Ranking Tournament held at Czech Republic.
Rakesh Kumar and Sheetal Devi put up a good fight in the high-intensity encounter against Italy and won gold in Compound open mixed team. Besides, Rakesh, in Compound men’s open doubles, won gold against France.
Sheetal also clinched silver in compound women’s open and bronze in compound women’s doubles by defeating Italy. The Indian team secured nine medals out of which five medals were contributed by the SMVD archers.
J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, who is also chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, congratulated both the sportspersons for their feat. In a tweet, he said “The entire nation is proud of their achievement and their feat will inspire millions of our youth.”
Dr. Ashok Bhan, a member of the shrine board and chairman of governing council of its sports complex, also congratulated both the participants for representing the country in the Czech Republic and their excellent performance in the event.
Anshul Garg, CEO, SMVD, informed that the shrine board’s support to sports is being appreciated. He called it a matter of pride that players nurtured at the SMVD Sports Complex are putting Jammu & Kashmir on the world map.
Notably, many an archer has been trained under the guidance of coaches, Kuldeep Vedwan and Abhilasha Chaudhary, at the sports complex in Katra. Rakesh Kumar is a native of Katra while Sheetal hails from Kishtwar. They have been trained here in the last about five years.
The sports complex is producing sportspersons of national and international standard in various sporting disciplines viz., Archery, Athletics, Judo, Shooting, Badminton etc, who have been showing promising results in varied competitions.
Moreover, SMVDSB Archery Academy has been accredited under Khelo India by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.