Shri. Ram Vilas Paswan, Honourable Union Minister for Steel and Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India was present at the 1st Junior and Cadet National Ranking Championship organised by Tata Steel to felicitate archers who have displayed exemplary performance in archery. Appreciating the efforts of Tata Steel in the area of archery, he announced an award of Rs 1.0 lakh for the following World Cup Gold Medalists -

1. World Cup Gold Medalist - Jayant Talukdar, Croatia 2006

2. World Cup Gold Medalist - Dola Bannerjee, Dubai 2007

3. World Cup Gold Medalist - Rahul Bannerjee, Turkey 2008

4. Asian and Commonwealth Championship Gold Medalist - Jhanu Hansda, New Delhi and Jamshedpur

He also promised an award of Rs 50,000 to all the Champions of the Junior and Cadet division.

It was an honour not only for the award winners but also for aspiring sportspersons to be encouraged by the Minister of Steel and Chemicals and Fertilisers.

The names of the other archers who were felicitated by Union Minister were:

1. Junior Recurve Champion (Boys) - Mr Rajeev Basumatary, SPSB, Jharkhand

2. Junior Compound Champion( Boys) - Mr Nikon, Manipur,

3. Junior Recurve Champion ( Girls)- Ms Pratima Boro, SPSB, Jharkhand

4. Junior Compound Champion( Girls) - Ms Namita Yadav, Jharkhand

5. Cadet Recurve Champion ( Boys) - Mr Atanu Das, SPSB, Jharkhand

6. Cadet Recurve Champion( Girls) - Ms Deepika, Jharkhand

7. Cadet Compound Champion( Boys) - Mr. C H Jignas, AP

8. Cadet Compound Champion( Girls) - Ms Asrita Kerketta, Jharkhand

Mr. Partha Sengupta, Vice President (Corporate Services), Tata Steel welcomed the Honourable Minister and briefed the Union Minister on the sports initiatives and facilities provided by Tata Steel for the people of Jamshedpur and Jharkhand. Also present on the occasion were other senior officials from Tata Steel and sports personalities who have represented India in International tournaments.

While addressing the gathering, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan said, "I am happy to see the remarkable contributions made by Tata Steel in the area of sports. It is overwhelming to see such commitment by both Tata Steel and SAIL to promote archery in this region through Archery Academies which are producing archers that have won at the International level. I would like SAIL to have a look at these facilities run by Tata Steel and try and emulate the same in their areas of operations".

He was accompanied by Mr. Hidayatullah Khan, President of State Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Mr. Rama Kishore Singh, MLA from Bihar, Dr Izhar Ahmad, MLA and Mr Fasal Khan, East Singhbhum, LJP Incharge and Mr. Punendra Narain Singh, Deputy Chairman, Adityapur Nagar Parshad.

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan also met the Sri Lankan and SAIL Kiriburu Archery Team that are being trained at the Tata Archery Academy.

This is the first time that a Junior and Cadet National Ranking Championship is being organised in India. Tata Steel is proud to host a championship of this nature in association with Jharkhand Archery Association and Archery Association of India. The tournament that was inaugurated yesterday has seen participation from more than 150 archers from 12 States/Units - AP, UP, Delhi, Assam, Manipur, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, to name a few. This event will also be the selection ground for the Junior and Cadet team for the Junior World Archery Championship that is scheduled to be held in Antalya, Turkey in October 2008.

Tata Steel has supported this sport for over a decade now. The Company has an elaborate Tata Archery Academy (TAA) that was inaugurated in 1996 for the all round development and training of potential archers. TAA has produced some of the finest archers in India since it started and these archers have made the country proud in International events. Since the last 12 years, more than 60 cadets belonging to the Scheduled caste / Scheduled tribes (boys and girls) have undergone training at TAA and have become accomplished archers today and found stable sources of income and employment.