NTPC to provide Rs 115 cr for development of archery

Bhubaneswar, Sep 15 National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on Thursday said it has committed to provide Rs 115 crore for the development of archery in India.

The NTPC has signed a MoU with the National Sports Development Funds (NSDF) and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) for this purpose.

Under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, NTPC has committed Rs 115 crore in five years for development of archery sports. Out of the total amount, Rs 15 crore will be incurred as a one-time expenditure towards preparations of field targets, setting up of training centres and equipment like bow and arrow, the company said in a statement.

Further remaining Rs 100 crore will be incurred as recurring expenditure in five years (Rs 20 crore per year) towards the development of archery from the grassroot level, training of identified talents, training of elite talents, development of high-performing coaches, procurement of equipment, development of sports and science lab compatible for archery, scholarships/prize money for high performers, etc.

The company has been supporting the archery sport in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Archery Association of India (AAI) with an aim to provide world-class facilities with international exposure and platform to the talented pool of archers of India.

The NTPC has been supporting archery sports at national and international level since 2018. The agreement was further extended up to the next Olympics in 2024, it said.

NTPC has also extended the support for organising all National Archery Championships for sub-junior, junior and senior categories for both men and women groups, National Ranking Archery Tournaments (NRAT), coaching facility, equipment, playing kits, among others.

Archers won many international medals during this period and performed excellently in Tokyo Olympics and reached the quarter final which is considered to be India's best performance in archery to date.

Indian archers showcased an exemplary performance in Tokyo Paralympics-2021 where Harvinder Singh won bronze medal. In 2021, India was honoured with two world records and Indian archers won a total 49 international medals (20 gold, 20 silver and 9 bronze) in all major international tournaments including Paralympics.