The Dhanbad District Archery Association (DDAA) on Tuesday felicitated two promising archers of the district, Mukesh Goswami (23) and Deepa Yadav (20) at the Gandhi Seva Sadan ground here to celebrate Jharkhand archer Deepika Kumari’s achievement in the Paris World Cup.

The duo was presented with wristwatches by the association’s president Bijay Kumar Jha and was later treated to a cake-cutting ceremony in presence of senior officials.

Deepa Yadav, the daughter of a daily wage earner, who won a bronze medal for the state in the 2019 National Games representing the state said, “The achievement of the Indian archery team comprising Deepika Kumari has boosted the confidence of every player of the state, including several players of Dhanbad. We request the government to develop facilities here like Ranchi and Jamshedpur”

Echoing sentiments, Mukesh Kumar Goswami who remained the best archer of the state from 2016 to 2019 and emerged as the highest point securing archers for the state in the Khelo India games of 2020 said, “Despite all achievements we are facing difficulties in procuring essentials for leading a respectable life and I am still struggling for a job.”

Talking to The Telegraph Online today after the felicitation, Jha said, “While we rejoiced the achievement of our state players in Paris we also expressed confidence that the Indian team will continue the streak at the Tokyo Olympics.”

“The two players who were felicitated today are also in no way less talented than anyone and given the opportunity they can also win medals for the country in the Olympics,” said Jha. He however lamented that Dhanbad, despite the presence of such a large number of talented archers, is still deprived of an Archery Academy.

General Secretary of the Dhanbad District Archery Association, Jubair Alam, told The Telegraph Online, “Many areas of the district including, Tundi, Topchanchi, Purbi, Tundi, Baliapur, Rajganj, Nirsa, Egarkund, Kaliasol, Pradhankhanta and Kalubathan are tribal areas and endowed with the huge sporting talent pool and given the opportunity they can excel in the sports.”

“Unfortunately the sports infrastructure in the district has always been neglected as neither any day boarding centre nor any academy is situated here,” said Alam.

He added, “I will soon meet sports minister Hazi Hafijul Ansari to demand the establishment of a full-fledged archery academy in Dhanbad so that the players do not face any issues of space and equipment while training.”