Arrow in the neck, archer has a narrow escape

Kolkata, October 30

A 14-year-old archer had a close shave after an arrow pierced through the right side of her neck during a practice session at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Bolpur centre, around 160km from here, this morning.

Terming it “accidental”, SAI regional director MS Goindi said the arrow pierced through the collarbone of Fazila Khatun but she was “out of danger” and recovering in hospital. “A stray arrow hit her near the collarbone. Luckily, it hasn’t pierced her wind pipe. She is out of danger now,” said Goindi. According to reports, a stray arrow from fellow archer Jewel Shaikh hit Fazila. 

“There’s a strict protocol about shooting. When archers go to collect their arrows, there is a ceasefire. Only when they return to their respective positions, the next round of shooting begins. So I don’t understand how this happened,” said Goindi. The director said a thorough inquiry would be made into the incident. “All coaches are accountable. I will conduct a thorough inquiry to ascertain whether there’s any lapse, and ensure such mishaps don’t happen again,” Goindi said. “It appears to be a lapse on the part of the coaching staff.” A promising recurve archer, Fazila was inducted as one of the 23 SAI trainees after a trial and district competition earlier in July. She was training for an inter-SAI tournament to be held here next month. — PTI