Shyam Lal Meena, who was part of India’s first-ever Olympic archery team at Seoul 1988, died on Sunday night after a prolonged bout with illness. He was 61.
The Indian archer breathed his last in a hospital after being admitted following a deterioration in his health. He had been battling liver-related complications in recent years.
Born on March 4, 1965, in the Kevadia village of Rajasthan’s Banswara district, Shyam Lal Meena rose from humble beginnings to become one of the pioneers of Indian archery.
He began practising with a traditional bamboo bow amidst financial hardships but his talent soon saw him excel and develop into a high-calibre archer with patronage from the Government’s Special Area Games (SAG) Scheme.
Shyam Lal Meena was part of the Indian men’s recurve archery team alongside the legendary Limba Ram and Rajat Haldar who won the bronze medal at the 1987 Asian Archery Championships in Kolkata.
It is regarded as the first-ever major international medal for Indian archery.
The podium finish also qualified India for the Seoul 1988 Olympics, marking Indian archery’s debut at the Summer Games.
Shyam Lal also qualified for the final Seoul-bound team through trials, forming the first-ever Indian archery team at the Olympics alongside Limba Ram and Sanjeeva Singh.
He finished 71st in individual qualification at Seoul 1988 while the Indian trio came in 20th in the men’s recurve team event.
In 1989, Shyam Lal Meena was conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award, one of India’s highest sporting honours, for his contribution towards Indian archery.
Over the course of his career, Shyam Lal Meena represented India in several international competitions and played a significant role in popularising archery in Rajasthan and across the country.
Following his retirement from competitive sport, he remained closely associated with the game as an archery coach at the District Sports Training Centre in Banswara, mentoring young athletes and nurturing grassroots talent.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/shyam-lal-meena-indian-olympian-archer-arjuna-awardee-dies
