Bishal Changmai Archer confident of winning Khelo India Games

GUWAHATI: Not long ago, when Santanu Changmai enrolled his twin sons Bishal and Bikram in a swimming academy in Golaghat district, little did he know that one of them would one day become an archer.

Buoyed by Bikram’s success as a swimmer in junior-level events, Bishal decided to push himself into unknown territory and took up archery. After initial setbacks, Bishal picked up momentum and became the first Indian to win two gold medals at the Youth World Championships.
“When I started my sports career, swimming was my favorite sport. I regularly participated in local competitions. My twin brother (Bikram) also participated in competitions and he was always ahead of me. I was a Wasn’t happy with my progress until the day I decided to take up archery,” Bishal had said earlier.
Talking about his foray into the new sport, Bishal said, “An archery camp was set up in Bokakhat area and despite knowing very little about the sport, I went to experience and get a feel for the camp. I became fascinated with the sport and urged my parents to enroll me in the archery program because I had decided to quit swimming.
“When I was in Golaghat, I used to watch archery competitions every single day. After that, I urged my parents to get me involved in sports and they helped me. From district-level competitions, I moved to the SAI center in Guwahati in 2016 before moving to the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune in 2017,” he added.
Since then, there has been no looking back for the archer. Bishal was part of the Indian team that won three medals at the Youth World Championships 2021 in Wroclaw. In the process, the U18 cadet Recurve archer also became the first Indian to win two gold medals at any Youth World Championship with three medals including a bronze.

The budding archer has participated in all the editions of the Khelo India Youth Games so far: Pune, Guwahati and Panchkula, but is yet to bag a medal from the tournament. However, Changmai hopes to win one this time, as he claims to have taken a cue from previous experiences.
Determined to make his fourth appearance at the Khelo India Youth Games in Bhopal, Changmai representing Maharashtra wants to live up to the billing his adoptive state has earned in all four editions of the tournament.
“I have learned a lot from previous competitions and have worked hard to prepare for the Games this year. Hopefully, I will get a medal,” said the 18-year-old.

The archery competition at the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 is underway at the Ranital Sports Complex in Jabalpur and will conclude on February 3.