Thinley Namgay

Trashigang’s Bidung gewog defeated Thimphu’s Pala Pila winning two straight sets yesterday at the ongoing Mewang Gyalsey Traditional Archery Tournament.

The tournament began from February 3 at the Changlimithang archery range in Thimphu.

In the first set, Bidung thrashed Pala Pila 25-4 on February 9 and nailed the fate of Pala Pila with a 18-25 win on the second day after the game couldn’t be completed in a day.

On February 9, Thuenpa Puenzhi defeated Paro Agay 11 in both the sets in the Pool B game.

A total of 25 teams are competing in the fourth edition knock out tournament that is organised by Bhutan Indigenous Games and Sports (BIGSA) to commemorate the birth anniversary of His Royal Highness the Gyalsey.

The teams paid entry fee of Nu 7,500 each. Each team has 13 players. Pool A has 13 teams and Pool B has 12. 

The first round of the tournament will end on February 19. 

The tournament permits two seeded players in a team. The BIGSA selects 20 seeded players every year from three traditional archery tournaments— Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Memorial Archery Tournament, Druk Wangyel National Archery Tournament, and Mewang Gyalsey Traditional Archery Tournament.

BIGS’s coordinator, Tshewang Namgyel, said that it was mandatory for archers to at least play 40 rounds to fulfill the selection criteria. “The ranking is based on number of karey (target hit) divided by total rounds which is multiplied by 100 percent.”

The number of participating teams increased this year. Last year, only 19 teams participated.

Thimphu Thromde will play against Mongar’s Balam Gewog from Pool A and Taktsang Charo will face Gomdar Gewog from Pool B today.

The tournament will end on March 8.