New target

Jamshedpur, Feb. 28: Every cloud has a silver lining. And Jayalakshmi Laguri has found hers.

The poor tribal archer, who missed the golden bullseye in the individual Indian round at the just concluded National Games because of a broken bow, has decided to redeem her career by mastering the more refined recurve shooting with the prize money her silver medal promises to bring.

The 26-year-old has already received Rs 41,000 — Rs 31,000 for her individual silver and Rs 10,000 for team bronze at the Games — from the Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation in Ranchi yesterday. She will get another Rs 5 lakh from the state government for her twin achievements.

The Indian round, which involves shooting with traditional bow, is on the wane in the archery circuit and Jayalakshmi wants to buy imported gear — worth around Rs 1.25 lakh if ordered from top manufacturers in the US — to pursue her recurve dream.

“Ab recurve mein jaana chahti hu. Indian round mein bahut saalo tak rahin (Want to compete in recurve. I have had quite a long stint in Indian),” the archer, who has had a seven-year tryst with traditional bows, said.

Jayalakshmi had tried her hands at recurve some three years ago, but had to leave training midway because she had no money. “Sanjeev Sir (former international archer and Arjuna awardee Sanjeev Singh) had drawn me to recurve section, but I could not afford a bow,” she said.

But destiny has, finally, smiled on her, as post-Games, she is a much sought-after archer. If yesterday it was the Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation, today Jayalakshmi was felicitated by former MP Bagun Sumbrui in Chaibasa. “Bahut khushi ho rahi hain. Log samman de rahen hain. Lagta hain maine bahut bada kaam kiya hain (I am very happy. People are honouring me. I feel like I have achieved something very big),” she said modestly.

A native of Gomasai village in Chakradharpur, the silver girl lives alone in a damp, single-room rented house in the Karandih suburbs. She travels 12-15km by bus everyday to practice at Tata Archery Training Centre at JRD Tata Sports Complex in the city. And so far, her only source of income was the monthly fee of Rs 2,000 she received at a Jusco school, where she trained children in archery. A major portion of this amount was spent in paying the rent. But now, the promising archer wants to add some vroom to her life.

“Achcha lag raha hain. Kuch paisa milega. Pehle toh scooter kharidungi aur baad mein recurve dhanush. (I am feeling good. I will get some money. First, I will buy a two-wheeler and then a recurve bow),” she grinned.

Jayalakshmi picked the second slot in the Games after losing 2-6 to Manipur’s K. Prabhahini Devi on February 22. She went on to bag the team bronze with Lakhi Mandal, Sukhmati Purty and Tulsi Hembrom.

Certifying her prowess, Jharkhand compound coach Harender Singh said the archer had the makings of a good recurve hand. “She is talented and hard working. Recurve archery can also help her get jobs with public sector companies. We can help her if she decides to make a switch,” he added.