Sri Lanka Archery moves into top gear

Wednesday, 8 August 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka Archery has come a long way during the past decade with young archers showing tremendous potential and promising results. Athletes’ performance both locally and internationally have improved mainly due to new clubs/schools entering the sport and the development of young coaches.

However, the archers needed international level coaching to reach the next level. This obstacle was cleared with the Sri Lanka Archery Association signing an agreement with Michael Peart of England to take over the Sri Lankan National Pool and Youth Pool.

Coach Michael is a highly respected coach in the archery circles due to his performance as an international archer who has also proved to be a result-oriented coach.

Coach Michael, with 25 years’ experience in the sport as a shooter, also carries 15 years of coaching experience.

Among many of his achievements is his contribution to the top position being owned by compound archer Nicky Hunt. Archer Nicky, under his coaching and guidance, went on to win two Gold medals in the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi. Nicky also held the position of the world’s number one compound archer, along with a world record.

Coach Michael has attended over 100 international tournaments, and over 16 of them as head coach. He is also responsible for England topping the medal table in many tournaments.

Like many sports in Sri Lanka, archery only has a very few professional/full-time level shooters. This is mainly due to the athletes’ involvement in education and employment. This is a crucial area understood by Coach Michael. His effort and strategy to strike this balance is taken well and applied by many archers.

Would a British coach blend to our standards? It was a concern that many athletes had. This isn’t a question any more since his level of adaptation and blending is excellent. It’s been so good that Coach Michael’s favourite food now seems to be rice and curry.