Archery body puts coaches on notice
An inherent communication gap between the coaches and their wards was the reason why the compound archers had turned up late for the bronze medal play-off at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea, earlier this month, said Archery Association of India (AAI) secretary general Anil Kamineni.
Kamineni along with treasurer Virendra Sachdeva and chairman of the ethics panel K S Kang are part of the three-man panel set up by the AAI to look into the fiasco in South Korea.
The trio along with the AAI top brass met the archers and their coaches in New Delhi on Thursday to look into the issue.
“It is a serious issue and we have sought detailed explanations from the archers and their coaches on this incident. From the details emerging, it is clear that there has indeed been a communication gap between the coaches and the archers,” Kamineni said.
Based on their explanations, the AAI has barred the concerned coaches — Lim Chae Woong, Surinder Singh and Jiwanjot Singh — from participating in any international assignment till the three-man panel submits their final report.
“The panel will submit its final report in a couple of weeks and in the interim, the concerned coaches will not be given any international assignments,” he added.
Late by three minutes, the Indian compound archery team were forced to forfeit their bronze medal play-off against Italy in Gwangju.
The team comprising Gurwinder Singh, Kawalpreet Singh and Aman were due to face their Italian counterparts Jacopo Polidori, Andrea Leotta and Luca Fanti.
However, since the team reached the Gwangju International Archery Centre three minutes late, it cost them a shot at the medal.
