Our Archers in London either seem to be on a Holiday or are feeling terribly homesick at the London Olympics ~ instead of smashing Records there they smashed my car windscreen here in Mumbai !
The Security Personnel at my Residence tell me that they did not hear anything but in the burst of wind and rain a small branch of a Tree in the garden had apparently collapsed and a big wood piece must have targeted my windscreen !
I’ve been arguing with them that the reason for the Windscreen being smashed are our Archers at the London Olympics ~ they’re either in Holiday mood or they’re feeling terribly homesick that they are shooting all over the place with some shots even landing back home in India and one of which cracked my car windscreen in Mumbai ! ~ one guard even agreed !
!@#$%&*() Even our last Big Medal Hope and World No 1 Woman Archer,Deepika Kumari just crashed out in Round 1 losing to a Brit,Amy Oliver who scored a couple of 10 while it was a losing 8 and 9 most of the way for Kumari
There’s nothing to really grin or smile about but what gets me is that I’ve observed that all our Men and Women Archers at Team and Individual Events keep grinning even while losing ! ~ I’m told it’s Therapy,advised by Sports Psychologists, to reduce tension and stress levels ~ for who ? the Archers or us ! ~ Making such a Conscious Smiling Effort to relax itself must induce anxiety !~ I’m also educated that it’s the swirling wind that changes arrow direction from a perfect 10 to 6,7 and 8 and even a 4 on the Target Board ! ~ True,but it’s an even playing field for all competitors ~ our problem is lack of consistency in High Scores ~ and a clear loss of nerves when it matters ~ Archery is more a Mental Discipline than others ~ and we lose it more often not !
I realise I am maybe a bit harsh, but I’m really angry ~ Archers and Shooters missing targets in London have cost me a Smashed Windscreen in Mumbai !
2 thoughts on “Our Archers in London either seem to be on a Holiday or are feeling terribly homesick at the Olympics~ instead of smashing Records there they smashed my car windscreen here in Mumbai !”
I am disappointed too and feel sorry for Kumari. I think it is easy for all of us sitting in India to criticise her. But I believe wind and UK weather played a major role. For last 3 days it was quite hot around 30 degrees. You would feel completely drained out and then suddenly from yesterday noon it started getting cold, windy and sudden rains. Believe me I am living in London for last 4 years and still haven’t got adjusted to this weather. We will never understand this stuff in 10-15 days. it’s completely different case when you are out on ground, you would feel cold, numb etc. Not in her defence as Indonesian girl won against Amy. I believe the administrators and Kumari too is at some fault. She should have practised more!!! We easily generalize the things. Another one is monsoon forecasting. Believe me after meeting some UK scientists I think our scientists have done really good job. These guys cannot forecast how the summer or winter will be. In fact they have failed when they did some predictions. That is the reason they forecast for just 5 days. The parameters are totally different for indian weather etc. This year till June whole UK was experiencing draught like situation. There were stories every day and within 15 days of June all changed. Entire June was water-washed!! and july too. Just thought I would share a different perspective.
Salil,you are actually experiencing the fickle and notorious English wind and weather and can better relate to it contributing to the dismal perfomance of our Archers ~for the record I’m crazy about Sports ~ all Games and Disciplines ~ and therefore was quite upset with the consistent dismal performance of our highly rated and medal hope Women and men Archers in the Team and Individual Events when they exited in the first round itself ~ but of course I salute all of them for their even reaching such high levels in their Discipline with Kumari even achieving World No 1 ranking ~ rising above sports politics,favouritism, government apathy and the training and competition conditions in India that leave a lot to be desired ~ from what I’m seeing at the Olympics,the world rankings means zilch and these are literally being thrown to the wind ! ~ on a given day any one can win regardless of current form and ranking ~ the only winner seems to be the Wind for playing Spoilsport! ~ and as you’ve said we should have arrived earlier in London to practice more in changing weather conditions and acclimatize to them ~ Methinks in Brazil in 2016 we’ll do better as the weather should be more stable ! Cheers and thanks so much for your perspective and rest assured I’m a die-hard fan of Indian Sports and Indian Sportsmen and Women ,Gaurav