Report by OD bureau; Bhubaneswar: A young archery player and coach from the tribal dominated Malkangiri district Mr. Bhagat Ram Nayak has been felicitated and presented with a two-wheeler by Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) at Bhubaneswar, today.

Presently 22 years old Bhagat Ram Nayak made it big in archery in national arena when he won the gold medal in National Rural Games 2002 held at Chandigarh only at the age of 12 years. He was also declared as the best archer of the National Rural Games 2002. This was a great feat of success for a tribal boy who never had the opportunity to avail formal professional training in archery.

In a brief felicitation ceremony, Mr. Pradeep K Jena, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Panchayatiraj Dept., Govt. of Odisha and CMD, IDCO, handed over the key of the two wheeler - ‘Hero Glamour’ to Mr. Bhagat Ram Nayak. As part of the felicitation programme OPGC MD Mr. Venkatachalam K congratulated the talented archery coach and presented a shawl. The main objective of presenting the young tribal archery coach with a bike was to enable him to move within the district in coaching many other tribal children and youths, added Mr. Venkatachalam K.

It may be noted here that Union Rural Development Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh during his recent visit to the state, had visited the house of Mr. Bhagat Ram Nayak in Malkangiri district and lauded his outstanding efforts in coaching over 100 tribal youths in archery in the backward district of Malkangiri.   Born on 2nd February 1990 in Badaregapada under Kotapalli in Malkangiri district, Mr. Bhagat Ram Nayak has become a role model for many tribal youths who now aspire to make a career in archery and undertaking coaching from Mr. Bhagat Ram Nayak.

Speaking on his love for Archery, Mr. Bhagat Ram Nayak asserted that every tribal boy is fascinated about archery as it is a part of their daily life, be it hunting or playing with bows and arrows in the forest. He also expressed his strong resolve to continue with archery practice and coaching throughout his life while enabling many tribal youths to become successful archers in the national and international arena.  He also expressed his gratitude to OPGC and the Panchayati Raj Secretary for their encouragement.

A brief PROFILE of Shri Bhagat Ram Nayak
Shri Bhagat Ram Nayak, son of Shri Chandra Nayak and Smt. Kanak Nayak was born in a small village of Badarengapada, Kotapalli in Malkangiri District on 2nd February 1990. Though Shri Bhagat Ram hails from a poor and backward district but now he is an illustrious figure in the field of Archery by winning many medals and bringing glory for the state of Odisha. Having an enthusiastic attitude towards archery, he used to play with bow and arrow with friends in forest in his childhood. Being inspired by his friends and family members, he joined Keonjhar Sports Hostel in the year 2001.Under the able guidance of coach Shri. Gangadhar Madhi he learned archery.
 In the year 2002 he qualified for National Rural Games organized at Chandigarh in Punjab. Participating in Junior Level (U-16, boy’s category) he won gold medal both in individual category and in team. He was also declared as the Best Archer of the National Rural Games 2002. Amongst his major achievements he won gold in Sub-Junior National Games at Cuttack and also fetched a bronze Medal in Sub-Junior National Games held in Bangalore in the year 2003.
Shri Bhagat Ram Nayak is currently working as a PET teacher at Mudulipada Girls High School, in Malkangiri. Shri Nayak is also providing coaching to over 100 local youths taking the initiative to inspire them to do a career in archery. Shri Nayak has played a significant role in enabling four of his students to participate in National Level Competitions.
Till date, Shri Bhagat Ram Nayak has bagged 4 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 2 bronze medals in his archery career. In 2007 he had participated in National Championship at Arunachal Pradesh.