President attends opening of new archery field
President Kh. Battulga gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the new archery field in the National Park on August 1. The archery field was built through a project titled “360 Degrees” and was constructed within two months. Project was built through donations from citizens and different entities. Usage and entrance to the new field is open to professional and amateur archers.
Kh. Battulga said, “We are gathered here today to witness an event that is opening a new page in the 58-year history of development of modern archery as a sport in Mongolia. The Mongols are recognized for their invention and use of a composite bow in the world history of weapons. As a nation that has practiced archery as part of a traditional culture, Mongolia developed archery as a sport, and welcomed the first Mongolian world champion and the first Mongolian Paralympic champion in archery. According to researchers, there are three prerequisites for being successful in a sport: tradition, training and talent.”
“The training part, which was uneven until today, has been remedied thanks to people who love and support sports. Let me thank all the contributors of this archery field again and again. Our archers now have an international standard and environmentally-friendly archery field for training. The archery field, which opens today, has been built in a short amount of time as a result of management that combined coordination of seniors’ experience, adults’ efforts and youths’ aspiration with experience exchange and mutual support in the construction work. May many continent, world, and Olympic champions be born on this archery field, built by joint efforts and united spirits of Mongolians, to glorify their nation,” he added.
Around 300 million MNT was raised from approximately 800 people for the project. In the new field, 32 archers can freely practice for up to the distance of 90 meters. Additionally, the largest Olympic rings were also built (27x3) at the field to symbolize the emergency of a new Olympic champion from Mongolia.
By opening an Olympic sized archery field in Mongolia, athletes will not have to go abroad to practice anymore, and will be provided with the option to stay in their homelands and save travel expenses.
Archery has been developing as a sport in Mongolia since the 1960s.
President of the Mongolian Archery Association said, “The archery practice field built in accordance to international standards that you and I have been waiting for 58 years has been successfully built within 58 days. Archers, coacher, their family, enthusiasts, sponsors and the warm-hearted people of Mongolia have created this. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to you all.”
There are many honored athletes in Mongolian archery. The first Mongolian to win an archery Olympic gold medal was D.Demberel in the 1971 Olympics. In Beijing 2008, D.Baatarjav bagged a gold medal from the Paralympics.