New Delhi Jan 25: Ahead of Republic day, govt of India declared list of Padma Awards, in which World popular archer, 3 time Olympian, Limba Ram named for Padmashri.
Limba Ram, the archer who earned laurels in archery at the international level is a product of the Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram which is working for the socio-economic upliftment and development of India’s indigenous tribes in the remote tribal areas of India.
About Limba Ram:
Limba Ram is an Indian archer who represented India in international competitions including three Olympics. He equalled an archery world record in 1992 at the Asian Championships in Beijing. The archer who earned laurels in archery at the international level is a product of the Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram which is working for the socio-economic upliftment and development of India’s indigenous tribes in the remote tribal areas of India.
Limba Ram was born in Saradeet Village(Jhadol tahsil, Udaipur district, Rajasthan state, India) on January 30, 1972. His family belongs to Ahari tribe and because of poverty, Limba Ram was used to hunt birds like sparrow, partridge and animals in jungle with his indigenous Bow (made of Bamboo wood) andreed Arrows. In 1987 one of his Uncles brought news that government is conducting trials in nearby village Makradeo to train good archers. In this trial 15 year old Limba Ram and three other boys (which include Arjuna award winner Archer Shyam Lal) were spotted by selectors of Sports Authority of India. Thereafter all these four boys were sent to New Delhi for four month training camp(Special Area Games Programme) under coaching of R. S. Sodhi.
Limba Ram was spotted and trained by Sports Authority of India in 1987. In the same year, 1987, he became overall Champion in National junior level Archery tournaments held at Banglore. In the following year 1988 he became overall champion in senior level national tournaments and selected to represent India in Seoul Olympics. In 1989 he reached to Quarterfinal in World Championship held in Switzerland. In the same year, 1989, he was at second rank in Asian Cup in Individuals and India got team Gold. In 1990 he helped India finish fourth in Beijing Asian Games. He represented India in three Olympics. In1992 he equalled the world record of Takayoshi Matsushita in the Beijing Asian Championship in 30 meters event with score 357/360 to bag a gold medal.[5] After receiving this news Parliament of Indiacongratulated Limba Ram. In 1993 at Barcelona Olympics he missed the Bronze medal by one point in the 70-meter segment and finished with 10th rank. In 1995 he stood with second rank and team won Gold medal in Commonwealth Games held at New Delhi. In 1996 he was National Champion with Asian Record.
Presently, After remaining unemployed for a few years, on January 10, 2009 Archery Association of India signed one year contract and appointed Limba Ram as National Archery Coach for 2010 Commonwealth Games
