“When I started archery, my coach had told me that my bow arm, its joint structure, was ideal for compound and not good for recurve. I considered myself physically incapable of doing recurve. But then at the Paris Olympics, there were so many archers, men and women, with different body structures. They were shooting at […]
“When I started archery, my coach had told me that my bow arm, its joint structure, was ideal for compound and not good for recurve. I considered myself physically incapable of doing recurve. But then at the Paris Olympics, there were so many archers, men and women, with different body structures. They were shooting at the highest stage. I thought if I was mentally capable of performing in high-pressure situations, then my arm won’t come in the way of this journey,” the Asian Games gold medallist recalled.It’s been six months since he made the shift to recurve. While he chose to remain tight-lipped about his new compound coach, Prathamesh admits that there’s been some teething trouble. When Prathamesh — who had beaten then-World No. 1 Mike Schloesser of Netherlands in 2023 to win the World Cup in Shanghai —started out in the sport, he had made up his mind that recurve archery was never an option for him.
Prathamesh (in picture) will be using 2025 to prepare himself and participate in local tournaments to test the waters, all with that ultimate Olympic goal in mind.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Prathamesh will be using 2025 to prepare himself and participate in local tournaments to test the waters, all with that ultimate Olympic goal in mind.“I thought come the 2028 Olympics, I would have been at the peak of my career. But we got to know last year that compound archery wouldn’t be a part of the Los Angeles Olympics, at least. That was harsh news for me, but I’d made up my mind that I would have to settlen for a life without the Olympics,” he explained. “Lot of archers have shifted from recurve to compound because that’s the easy way out to get medals. But moving the other way sends a good signal to all of those archers that they can come back and boost India’s chances to win at the Olympics,” the Dronacharya Awardee told Sportstar. “The main aim is to make the Indian team for the 2026 World Cups and the Asian Games,” he concluded. “It’s a challenge. I’m going to feel really good if I pull this off and show that I can do the things which people think are impossible.”“I decided to go and watch the Paris Olympics, just for the experience of it. It was really incredible. I felt FOMO (fear of missing out) while being there, that I’m missing out on the greatest stage for an athlete. When I was watching the men’s recurve gold medal match, I decided I really wanted this and I would give up anything to get it,” the 21-year-old told Sportstar on Thursday, after World Archery officially announced his shift.In attendance was Prathamesh Jawkar, one of India’s best archers. He was there at the Esplanade des Invalides as a spectator because his discipline – compound archery – is not part of the quadrennial event.
Challenges ahead
But it was that gold medal match which prompted the youngster from Maharashtra’s Buldhana to take a giant leap of faith.For someone whose target has always been to help India win that elusive medal in archery at the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee’s decision to not include compound in the 2028 Los Angeles Games was a bitter pill to swallow. ALSO READ | Khelo India Para Games 2025: Full schedule, dates, venues, disciplines, mascot and more
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On August 4, 2024, South Korea’s Kim Woo-jin beat USA’s Brady Ellison 6-5 to clinch the gold medal in men’s recurve archery at the Paris Olympics.
According to former SAI High Performance Director (Archery) Sanjeeva Kumar Singh, this development bodes well for a lot of archers who usually shift in the other direction. “It hasn’t been smooth. Recurve needs a lot more strength. Compound archery has a mechanical bow so you don’t get tired easily. I had to build my strength from zero because it’s really hard to pull the bow. I still haven’t developed the power to shoot higher scores. There have been a lot of painful days for me in these past few months,” he said. “It’s the right decision. Prathamesh has performed really well at the world level. When you look at the Olympics, it depends whether the athlete can take on the pressure. The winning mindset, good body structure, the perfect T-stance – he has it all. What is required is the right coaching,” the Olympian — who represented India in the 1988 Seoul Games — added.
