Sports ministry willing to help archers

BANGALORE: The Union sports ministry reiterated on Thursday that it would continue to support Indian archers but admitted that it was yet to find a way to route its funds for their exposure tours in the absence of a national sports federation.
With the government derecognising Archery Association of India, archers who found themselves left in the lurch formed a united front recently to not merely project their case to the ministry and Sports Authority of India but also reap the benefits of collective bargaining with the federation.
The immediate concern of the archers, aired in the past few days, is the exposure tours abroad. Seized of the situation, the ministry said it was willing to hold discussions with the archers only if they came under the umbrella of a competent authority.
"We will not let the archers down. We are willing to speak with them but not if they choose to come to us as representatives of the association that they have formed. If we speak to this association, we may send the wrong signals in the archers' community or create fissures by giving the impression that we are favouring a select lot," a top ministry official told TOI.
"Instead, it would be better if they approach us through a competent authority," the official said.