Thinley Namgay   

Sonam Penjor will play his last game at the Asia Archery Challenge underway at the Wonju Archery Centre in South Korea. 

The class XII student of Yangchenphug HSS, who represents Bhutan in the country’s debut in the event  will compete in the men’s team event today. 

In the round of 16, Sonam Penjor hitting 614 points out of 720 progressed to the elimination round and defeated Mongolia 7-5. However, he lost 7-1 to South Korea in the following elimination round.   

In the mixed team categories, Sonam Penjor and his companions couldn’t proceed to the next round.  

Sonam Penjor said, “It was a great opportunity for me. I had a good experience. I felt confident while shooting although it was my first appearance.” 

He is optimistic for future competitions as he learned to score correctly, shoot with proper posture, and do necessary exercises to recover from injury, among others. 

“Although I didn’t win, I tried my best in all individual, and mix-team matches,” he said.  

Coach Younten Zangmo, who accompanied Sonam, said that besides the game experience, the event also allowed participants to interact and learn from each other.  However, she said that heavy rainfall and wind had disrupted a few events.   

The event which is scheduled between August 21 and 25 saw 75 recurve archers and 25 officials from 20 participating countries including Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka from the SAARC region. 

The tournament which began last year,  besides individual games, archers from different countries  divided into groups and engage in team and mixed game events.    

Experienced coaches from Korea are facilitating the event to improve the archers’ performance through systematic training. Indoor theory sessions are also being provided.