Shehzana-Anwar-Photo-courtesy-of-World-Archery.
The Kenya National Archery Team handlers believe their medal achievement during the recent Africa Open Archery Championship -held in Mauritius from August 25 to 28- is a fascinating eye-opener towards their spirited hunt for Paris-24 Olympic slots.
The six-member outfit were obviously on a roll when curtains came down on the prestigious Mauritius showpiece; a precursor to the 2023 African Continental Qualification Tournament slated for November 7 – 12 in Nabeul, Tunisia.
Competing against 8 African Nations and a field of 55 Archers in the male and female categories in Mauritius, Kenyan archers encountered intense competition from the host country and other top competing Nations.
Enduring humid and gusty winds at the Strade Germain Comarmond Stadium, the Kenyan Team bagged one silver in the women’s team event and a bronze medal in the mixed Team event.
In the individual female ranking round, trailblazing Kenyan archer and Olympian Shehzana Anwar ranked second against the tough competing field.
The finals of the event and the medal ceremony were held at the scenic Le Caudan Waterfront overlooking the harbor in Port Louis.
Led by the Kenya Team Coach Tabassum Anwar, the team 6 archers included Agnes Kinyua (silver medalist team event), Diram Elema (silver medalist Team event), Shehzana Anwar (silver medalist team event and bronze medalist mixed event), Rizwan Virji (bronze Medalist team event), Edel Kawara an Alikhan Kazia.
The team is now leaving nothing to chance given that the top two slots in the male and female categories in Tunisia will culminate into next year’s Paris Olympics slots.
–National Qualifiers–
Asked about Nabeul preparations, Tabassum expounded: “We set-up our national qualifier competition and national qualifier scores. Stage 1 of the national qualification event was held at the end of July at Strathmore University range.”
“Stage 2 counted as the scores accrued from the Mauritius extravaganza whilst Stage 3 shall take place at the beginning of October. And with most archers now based in Nairobi, daily training has been ongoing after work. All archers are employed, so we take that into consideration. Each archer has their own equipment but the need to upgrade is paramount. Again, funds are restraining on this matter.”
–Olympic Dream—
“The biggest dream of any archery is to be a world champion and indeed to go to the Olympics. It has been done once by our very own Shehzana Anwar who, having won the 2016 Africa Championship, won the Summer Games slot for Kenya. The other two Kenyan qualifiers (Shamas Velani and Dominic Rebelo) got their slots through wildcards.”
Depending on funding, Tabassum sees Kenyan archers breaking through in World Championships.
“We have submitted our budget to the authorities in regards to preparation towards the Olympics, in which we have requested for participation in 3 World Cup competitions. To enable more Kenya archers realise their potential in the sport, we need to be funded to take them to expert training centers and camps. For the juniors, there has been a school training programme running under the tutelage of Shehzana.”
–Beginners Equipment–
And asked what it would take for one to become an archer in Kenya, Tabassum averred that potential titlist would definitely start at beginners’ level with novice equipment.
“Archers have to train hard in all sorts of conditions to counter judgement of arrow flight. All competitive archers need to compete in different parts of the world to master control of equipment and mental status,” expounds Tabassum.
She went on: “After achieving a set score/goal in training”, explains Tabassum, “they would then invest in professional equipment to be able to compete internationally. Then international competition they will need to participate in are; Male 70m, Female 70m., mixed teams 70m, gender teams of 3 archers/ 70m. These are Olympic categories but worldwide there are many more. To join you need to be dedicated to training as you will have to sacrifice your social life.”
Meanwhile, Tabassum has singled out weather as one facet of the sport they’ll not take lightly in this noble game of bows, strings and arrows.
–Weather Quagmire–
“Wind was tremendous in Mauritius. We haven’t witnessed such a kind of wind before. So, Mauritius was an eyeopener as arrows would not land where you want to aim; the wind carries them away. Plus strong wind will adjust your form. You can’t stand totally up right in windy situations, as crouching will move your body setting. Archers have to work on compensating where they want arrow to land.”
Kenya has one official archery rangeat the Strathmore University Sports Complex which is solely for archery and a permanent playing venue where archers continue to hone their skills through and through.
Tabassum goes on to reveal that there is another archery range at Aga Khan Sports Club; which is makeshift- so targets have to be set up when other sports are not on going.
