Kalahandi youth Sanjaya Majhi made Odisha proud by winning one bronze medal in the Senior National Archery Championship at Gopal Maidan in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand today. Sanjaya bagged the bronze in mens 50 metre Indian Round, scoring 327 points.

This was the first Senior National medal for Odisha after a long gap. Information about the archer winning the previous Senior National medal for Odisha is not readily available. But it is confirmed that Rajesh Hasdak, the most decorated archer of the State, secured his last Senior National medal with a silver in 2003.

Tribal youth Sanjaya belongs to Pahadapadar village in Lanjigarh block of Kalahandi district. He has been doing archery for the last four years, under the guidance of his coach and mentor Simanchal Kadraka. The 19-year-old archer trains at his almamator Govt SSD High School, Lanjigarh.

Son of Dana Majhi, Sanjaya has one elder brother and two sisters in his family. He has been supported by leading aluminium producing company, Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh. Sanjaya recently joined Bhubaneswar-based KISS Deemed to be University to pursue a bachelor degree in commerce.

Throwing light on the archery journey of Sanjaya, his coach Kadraka said: “He belongs to an economically weaker tribal family. He is hard-working and has the talent to achieve international glory.”

“For the National championship, we prepared with diligence. He did not go to his village during vacation and honed his skills at the SSD High School Archery Academy. I am happy that his hard work bore fruit at the Senior National Championship,” added Kadraka, an archer-turned-coach.

Odisha Archery Association secretary Sampurnananda Das congratulated Sanjaya for his bronze-medal achievement and wished him greater laurels in the future.
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PHOTO: File picture of Odisha archer Sanjaya Majhi