Earlier this week, when 21-year-old Parth Salunkhe finished 60th in the men’s individual recurve qualification in Shanghai Archery World Cup Stage 2, the Maharashtra bowman would tell himself ‘Never be afraid to take off’. The same day, Salunkhe would edge out both Tokyo Olympics champion, Turkish Mate Gazoz and Tokyo and Paris Olympics team star Kim Je-deok of South Korea in the quarter-final.
He would seal his spot for Sunday’s semi-final against Pars Olympics triple gold medallist and Rio and Tokyo Olympics team gold medallist Kim Woo-jin of South Korea.
Trailing 0-4 in the semi-final, Salunkhe made a comeback to tie the match 4-4 before he lost on the last arrow. Moments later, he won his maiden Archery World Cup medal with a 6-4 win over Paris team silver medallist Baptiste Addis of France and the 21-year-old would reiterate the same thoughts.
“I barely made it in qualification, ranked 60th out of 64. This being my second World Cup, I had no medal dreams but to give my best whatever situations came. And that’s the way I have always shot. And today I have the bronze medal. I have lived an emotional lifetime in just a few days. From being the 60th on the list to being on the podium with somebody like Kim Woo-jin. This is a sign that even if life ranks you sixth, 60th or 600th, never be afraid to take off. One never knows when his story will take a turn to become unforgettable,” shares Salunkhe while speaking with The Indian Express.
The youngster’s archery journey from Satara had not taken off with his coach at the academy leaving training within six months of him joining. Parth’s father Sushant Salunkhe, a school teacher, learnt coaching manuals in archery from Youtube to support his son’s dreams.
With the family having modest means, Salunkhe also shot with an old bow. “I started archery in a school camp but then we faced the coach problem. My father would spend hours learning about archery coaching manuals from Youtbe and trained me in basic set-ups. Financial struggles were there and I did not mind training with an old bow for years but later I was lucky enough to get selected in government schemes,” shares the youngster.
It was in 2018 that Salunkhe was selected for the SAI centre at Sonepat. Training under coach Ram Avdesh, Salunkhe would become the national champion in 2021 before winning a silver in individual and team events each in Asia Cup Stage 3 in 2023. The same year, the then 19-year-old became India’s first Youth World Champion in recurve with a 7-3 win over Korean Song In-jun in the final.
Story continues below this ad
Parth Salunkhe reacts during the Shanghai Archery World Cup Stage 2. (PHOTO: World Archery)
“Initially, Parth did not have much physical strength. But he had a smooth shooting technique with smooth setting up of anchor and releasing the bow. He had some issues with his left shoulder placement and we worked on that with slowly making him shoot 300-400 shots in practice. At present, his lining of the shoulders is almost excellent and his body does not tilt while drawing a poundage of almost 46. He has worked on his body core which helps him to utilise the power and flexibility in the upper body for the right balance of push and pull. He also has an almost perfect follow through after release and it adds to the stability,” remembers Avdesh.
While he had edged out Gazoz via a shoot-off in the first round and Je-deok in the quarter-final earlier this week, Salunkhe was once again trailing Woo-jin in the semi-final 0-4. While Woo-jin had three nines and an eight apart from two tens in the next two sets, Salunkhe had three nines and three tens in the same to see the score tied at 4-4.
With the Korean shooting a ten first in the last set, Salunkhe too shot a ten followed by both the archers shooting an eight. Woo-jin shot a ten off the last shot and Salunkhe needed a ten to force the match into the play-off but a seven meant that Salunkhe would wait for his fate in the bronze medal match. “Parth ne Woo-jin ko ek time hila diya tha.(Parth shook Woojin at one point in the match). The wind was blowing fast from right to left. But then Parth recovered well in the semi-final and knew that concentrating on the yellow ring on the whole will help. The seven came just because of the pressure of advancing to the final and not due to Woojin,” shares national coach Sonam Bhutia.
Salunkhe too echoes the same. “I respect all the great archers a lot but when I compete, it doesn’t matter with whom I am competing against. I have always believed that it only depends on myself how I will shoot and that’s what I did whether I was facing Gazoz or De-jouk or Woo-jin or Addis,” says the youngster.
Story continues below this ad
Against Addis, Salunkhe started with a perfect set with a score of 30 in the first set with Addis shooting a score of 28. With the wind picking up, Salunkhe built on a 4-2 lead before Addis with a perfect round of 30 made it 4-4. In the fifth set, both the archers were tied after the second shot before Salunkhe shot a ten while Addis shot a nine. “To start the bronze medal match with a perfect 30 after the loss against Woo-jin speaks of Parth’s mental strength. He struggled a bit in the fourth set but then once again made a comeback in the fifth set against Addis and this medal will motivate him a lot,” says Bhutia.
Salunkhe’s takeaway from Shanghai. “I came just for the experience, thinking I’d watch, learn, and quietly go home. And that’s what I am taking home,” says the youngster.
