L .Bombayla Devi. Picture by Robert Sapam

Imphal, Sept. 27: Ace archer Laishram Bombayla Devi has become the first Manipuri woman to ever qualify for the Olympics. She was selected on the basis of her recent performance at the 2007 World Archery Championship at Leipzip in Germany for the Fita recurve team.

Though Manipur has produced archers at the international level earlier, the 23-year-old Bombayla is the first to have made the cut for the Beijing Olympics. Not only does Bombayla have a new feather in her cap; she, along with Dola Banerjee and Chakravolu Swu, claimed the sixth position among competitors from 45 countries, who battled it out for qualifying in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Bombayla and Chakravolu also qualified for the individual Fita recurve event. However, this time the men’s team failed to qualify. Bombayla is the daughter of state archery coach M. Jamini Devi while her father, Manglem Singh, is a state handball coach.

She was candid enough to admit that she faced very tough competition at Leipzip, particularly from the Koreans. It was very satisfying, she said, to reach the top eight giv-en the stiff competition from archers from 45 countries.

On being asked about her prospects in Beijing, she said all three of them were determined to bring home a medal for the recurve team.

Regarding the individual recurve event, Bombayla added that she did not have any idea of her chances as it would be a very tough fight.

The national camp for the 2008 Olympic Games is scheduled to begin in January next year. It will be held in Calcutta. Bombayla will also participate in some other national and international competitions in between to hone her skills.