Indian archers focussed on the job

Life had been so lonely in Maracana that the archers were delighted to see a bunch of school kids. The archers spent some time with the children, and posed for photographs with them.

Published : Jul 23, 2016 21:46 IST

The Indian archers with school kids.

With their focus on Mission Olympics, the Indian archers are virtually shut off from the rest of the world. The women’s trio of Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi, along with Atanu Das, stay at a training base close to Maracana.

Their day starts at 5 a.m. with a yoga session followed by training. Their only source of information is through the Wi-Fi connection at the practice arena. “The place where we are staying is in the hills amidst a jungle. There are no internet and television connections and we don’t know what is happening around the world. For example, we got to know of the attack in France only after two days. But, the biggest positive is that there is no distraction and everybody is focused on the job,” AAI treasurer Virendra Sachdeva, who is looking after the squad in Brazil, told Sportstar over phone.

“Playing carrom or snooker, or talking to each other, is the only way to relax,” he added.

Life had been so lonely in Maracana that the archers were delighted to see a bunch of school kids. The archers spent some time with the children, and posed for photographs with them.

The archers are excited about the prospect of moving to Rio on Sunday. Once there, they plan to get in touch with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials and pursue their request for accreditation to a physiotherapist during the Games.