All India Police Archery Championship 2021: ITBP becomes overall champions with 41 medals

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) stood victorious at the All India Police Archery Championship organised in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida on Saturday. ITBP Constable(s) Neeraj Chauhan and Deepti Kumari were declared as best male and female archers of the Championship respectively. Special Director IB Sunil Kumar Bansal was the Chief Guest on the occasion and ITBP IG (Training) I.S. Duhan also marked his presence.

Duhan said, "The mascot of the Championship was 'Himu'- an imagination of a tiger cub which was named after Himveers (a name known for ITBP personnel being deployed in snow conditions in the Himalayas).

It is to be noted that this is the first All India Police Games that has been successfully conducted after the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus. The annual event saw a total of 24 teams of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), State Police Forces, and Central Police Organisations partake in the Championship. More than 371 contestants competed against each other under various categories of Archery. These included Recurve, Compound, and Indian including ranking with medal, individual, team, and mixed events in the 5-day long championship.

ITBP clinches All India Police Archery Championship

The ITBP finished at the top of the medal tally with a total of 41 medals including 18 gold, 11 silver, and 12 bronze medals. The competition saw the distribution of 111 medals, wherein the Rajasthan police got six gold while Maharashtra police got four gold medals to finish second and third at the overall medal's standing. Notably, this is also the first time that the ITBP has won both categories of the overall championship of the All India Archery Championship.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, chief guest and Special Director IB Sunil Kumar Bansal mentioned that the All-India police championships had emerged as a magnificent platform for Archery talents of the police forces. ADG ITBP A M Prasad added that the ITBP was performing 'exceedingly well' in the field of different sports especially in Archery over the course of the years.

History of the annual event

The All India Police Games in collaboration with the All India Police Sports Control Board (AIPSCB) organises different sports every year for the services. Archery was included in the list of AIPSCB-controlled annual police games since 2013. The history of the game is 70 years old and the inaugural edition of the All India Police games was held back in 1951. The ITBP had hosted the 2nd All India Police Archery Championship in 2014. 

Image: Twitter/@ITBP