Compound archer Parth Korde wins big at Sub-Junior Nationals with borrowed bow

Winning four gold medals in a compound event with borrowed equipment at the ongoing 38th Sub-Junior National Archery Championships in Amravati (Maharashtra) speaks volumes of 15-year-old Parth Sunil Korde’s resilience.

The schoolboy from Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, didn't give up when his bow cracked a few hours before the start of the competition, his coach Abhijeet Dalvi said.

Korde, who borrowed a bow to compete, went on to win four gold medals to stamp his authority in the national competition.

"Parth is mentally very strong. That’s the main reason for his success in the national competition," his coach opined.

“Despite borrowing a bow at the eleventh hour, it didn’t weigh on Parth’s mind. He didn’t wilt under pressure, that enabled him to excel in all the events he competed,” Dalvi explained.

Korde scored 699 points out of a possible 720 to edge out Haryana’s Kushal Dalal (698) to bag gold in the boys' 50m overall. Prajjawal of Rajasthan took the bronze.

Korde also won gold in the individual Olympic round and was instrumental in Maharashtra bagging the team gold and mixed team title.

"This performance will boost Parth Korde's confidence" - coach Abhijeet Dalvi

Korde has made good progress in the last 12 months.

"From ranking as low as 30th at the 2020 Junior National Archery Championships to walking away with four gold medals here is certainly a big jump," said coach Dalvi.

"Korde switched to compound archery only a year ago and bought second-hand equipment to give it a try," the coach added.

Initially, success eluded the youngster and he failed to make the cut for the World Archery Youth Championships held in Poland in August.

“The current performance will give a big boost to Parth’s confidence. We hope he will continue to march forward in the 2022 season,” coach Dalvi concluded.