JAIPUR: Five years ago, Anil Joshi the National Para Archer Coach convinced Shyam Sundar Swami’s father, a vegetable seller in Bikaner, to sell whatever little ancestral property he had to buy archery equipment for his son.
The para-archer is currently ranked 17th in the world rankings and his scores of 700 plus during training makes him a strong contender.
The para-archer qualified for the Tokyo event in June 2019 during the World Para Championships in Hertogenbosch where he finished at the ninth position.
A consistent showing and winning medals at the national events saw him become a part of the national camps where he got every facility that an Olympian gets.
It was a tough decision for the family as they had no savings and survived on fluctuating daily sales of supplies. But today, they don’t regret the decision as Swami is set to represent India in the Tokyo Paralympics.
“I had spotted Sundar at MM Ground in Bikaner and felt he had potential to make a mark in archery. And then I decided to take up his responsibility, but given the resource crunch at my academy, I had to convince his father Bhagwan Das to provide the boy with a bow. After hours of discussion on how investment on Sundar will result in bigger gains, the family agreed and a second-hand bow of Rs 65,000 was bought for him. It was a very big sacrifice on their part given the uncertainty involved, but things have fallen in the right direction, just exactly as I had thought,” Joshi told TOI.
