NAGPUR’S Golden Boy archer Ojas Deotale has been nominated for the prestigious Arjuna Award for his stupendous performance in the bow and arrow sport. Arjuna award is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. The Arjuna award winners receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh. The 21-year-old compound archer from Nagpur was the toast of the nation in August when he became the first Indian to become world champion in Berlin, Germany. In the same competition, Ojas helped the Indian Compound team win the yellow metal making it a double delight for himself as well as for the nation. A couple of months later, Ojas, son of Pravin and Archana, rewrote another record when he won three gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games in China. The talented archer won gold medals in individual compound, team compound and mixed compound events which helped India’s medal tally score over 100 mark.

 

In Germany, Ojas had shot a perfect 150 in the final to beat Poland’s Lukasz Przybylski by a single point and become the first Indian man to win an individual world title. At Hangzhou, in the Compound Men’sTeam event Ojas partnered with Abhishek Verma, and Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar to claim the gold. He then claimed the second gold in the mixed team event partnering Jyothi Surekha Vennam. They downed second-seeded Korean pair of So Chaewon and Joo Jaehoon 159-158 to clinch the top prize for India. Ojas won his third gold of the Games defeating compatriot Abhishek Verma in the men’s compound individual event. In a battle between the master and apprentice, Ojas emerged the clear winner. Ojas’ journey to the top was not a cakewalk and had hurdles all over. Deotale travelled from his HingnaT-Point home to Bada Tajbagh for practice. “It was a makeshift archery arena, an open field. During the rainy season, the entire field used to turn into a big pond.

 

The patch on which we used to practice was not reachable with puddles all over. I used to put boulders and bricks to reach the Target Buttress, after releasing the arrow from the target area. During summer days it was more difficult. The scorching Nagpur heat would drain us. There was no shade and we had to train under the burning Sun,” said Deotale had said then. From a 15-year-old newcomer to the bow and arrow sport to world and Asian champion at the age of 21, Deotale has achieved too much in too little time. “It’s been only six years since I took up archery. It was just for leisure. But my love for this sport grew and I started dreaming of representing India one day,” Deotale had told this newspaper after returning from Germany with the championship gold medal.