TAWANG, Oct 12: The Indian Army has announced an initiative to identify and nurture promising young archers from Arunachal Pradesh, offering them advanced training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune, along with educational and residential support.
The announcement was made by Lieutenant General Neeraj Shukla, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 4 Corps, during the closing ceremony of the five-day 5th State-Level Archery Championship 2026 at the Gyalwa Tsangyang Gyatso High Altitude Sports Stadium here on Monday.
Under the proposed initiative, selected archers will receive advanced training, while the Army will take care of their education, food and accommodation during the training period. Those who attain 18 years of age and wish to join the Army would be considered for direct recruitment, subject to applicable requirements.
The selection process is scheduled to begin in Tawang by the end of October. The initiative is expected to open new avenues for aspiring sportspersons from Arunachal, enabling them to pursue excellence in sports while building a secure and promising future.
The GOC acknowledged the support extended by Chief Minister Pema Khandu towards the initiative and said the Army was working to nurture young talent across six sporting disciplines and prepare promising athletes for national and international competitions.
Tawang Zilla Parishad Chairperson Leki Gombu, who attended the ceremony as guest of honour, congratulated the participants and urged young archers to remain disciplined and dedicated. He said archery, traditionally practised during festivals such as Losar, was increasingly emerging as a potential professional sporting career for the youth.
Earlier, Major General Amit Nautiyal, GOC, 5 Mountain Division, handed over 10 sets of archery equipment worth Rs 40 lakh to Tawang district archers under Operation Sadbhavana. The equipment comprised six sets of recurve bows and four sets of compound bows.
Tawang MLA Namgey Tsering, who attended the award distribution ceremony, joined other dignitaries in presenting medals and awards to the winners.
The championship featured archers from different parts of the state competing in recurve, compound, sub-junior Indian and senior Indian rounds, including individual, overall and team events.
In the overall recurve boys' category, Wangtai Wangsu won gold, Lobsang Tenzin Com silver and Tikap Nokbi bronze. In the girls' category, Nabam Mach secured gold, while Joram Meth and Rahilu Pul bagged silver and bronze medals respectively.
In the recurve individual elimination events, Lobsang Tenzin Com and Joram Meth won gold in the boys' and girls' categories, respectively.
In the compound individual events, Mallo Jikap won gold in the boys' category, while Tang Sumi topped the girls' category. Mallo Jikap also won gold in the overall compound boys' category, while Ngamleh Wangsa secured the girls' overall title.
In the sub-junior Indian individual events, Tenzin Dondup of KIC, Tawang, won gold in the boys' category, while Suchandini Mantaw of SLSA topped the girls' category. KIC, Tawang, won the boys' team event, while SLSA secured the girls' team title.
In the senior Indian individual events, Heter Nabam won gold in the boys' category and Khemawati Manang topped the girls' category. SSA, Miao, won the senior boys' team event, while SLSA's Chow Kingsa and Didumsi Ngi won gold in the mixed team event.
The championship concluded with a renewed focus on promoting archery, strengthening sports infrastructure and creating opportunities for young athletes to compete at higher levels. (DIPRO)