Archer escapes death after arrow pierces neck
KOLKATA: A 14-year-old archer from Sports Authority of India (Bolpur) had a close shave after an arrow pierced through the right side of her neck during a practice session on Monday morning.
Terming it “accidental”, SAI regional director MS Goindi said the arrow pierced the collarbone of Fazila Khatun and she is “out of danger” recovering in hospital.
“A stray arrow hit hear near the collarbone... luckily it’s not pierced the wind pipe and she is now out of danger,” Goindi said.
According to reports, a misfiring arrow from her fellow archer Jewel Shaikh hit Fazila.
In a video, Fazila is seen with the arrow pierced through the skin on the right side of the neck.
Calling for a detailed inquiry into the incident, Goindi said: “There’s a strict protocol about shooting as when archers go to collect the arrows there is a ceasefire. Only when they return to their respective marking line, the next round of shooting begins. But I don’t understand how this has happened.”
Goindi said that this kind of mishap will not happen again.
“All the coaches are accountable, I will conduct an inquiry to ascertain whether there’s a lapse on our part,” Goindi said.
“It appears to be a lapse on the part of the coaching staff as after one set of shooting, a ceasefire is declared when the archers go to their respective targets.”
A promising recurve archer, Fazila was inducted as one of the 23 SAI trainees after a district competition earlier in July.