Thinley Namgay

The final match of Coronation Silver Jubilee National Archery Tournament between team Tshering Dang Jigs and Pel Druba Lamai Dhensa has been extended to the third day at the Changlimithang archery range in Thimphu.

The match will continue today.

At the end of the second day, Tshering Dang Jigs was leading 18-11 in a set of 25 points. At around 3pm yesterday, the score was 12-0 in favour of Tshering Dang Jigs, but the team couldn’t add more  points towards the evening.

The organiser, the Bhutan Indigenous Games and Sports Association (BIGSA), tried to conclude the match yesterday by extending the game time by two and a half hours, but considering the safety of spectators and archers, the match was stopped at 7:30pm.

Organisers and archers said that both teams were equally competent and it was challenging to secure points in such a compound archery tournament where the majority of the arrows hit the target, unlike in the traditional archery tournament.

On June 22, Pel Druba Lamai Dhensa won the first set 25-6; opponent won the second set 25-4.

On June 16, Pel Druba booked their place in the final by defeating Ratna  2-1 sets. Tshering dang Jigs won against Doedjung 2-0 sets.

The winner will be awarded Nu 180,000 with a trophy. The runners-up will receive Nu 150,000 and a trophy.

BIGSA official Tshering Choki said stringent measures were put in place to ensure safety at the range.

She said BIGSA made sure that archers were not intoxicated and required archers to maintain a distance of a metre when another archer shoots.

The tournament, which began on June 2, saw 16 teams participate. For the first time, a women’s team also participated. Each team paid an entry fee of Nu 20,000.

The last tournament was held in 2019.