The sport has come of age. In fact, India is ranked 14th in world rankings at present and archery, undoubtedly, is a prospective Olympic-Asian Games medal winning sport for India. But archery not only suffers from lack of media blitz, but also from the financial point of view. Since the sport is more famous among tribals, it is beyond their reach and means to import the latest equipment from abroad. The bows for the Indian round, which are comparatively cheaper to the ones used in Modern round, could be purchased for Rs 15,000-2,000. These bows and arrows are made of bamboo, and as a participant quipped, could do the Ram Lila actors proud. In fact, one of the participant won a medal shooting with a bow costing a meagre Rs 150.

However, an arrow in the Modern round costs anything between Rs 200 (aluminum) to Rs 1,000. Carbon arrows, which are imported from United States of America and Korea cost upwards of Rs 1,000. Archers bank on these for accuracy as these arrows are said to be wind resistant and travel with extra speed, thereby easing the job of a shooter. The archers have to have a good number of arrows with them as it saves them on time. A dozen or so arrows, therefore, can lead to an expenditure of about Rs 10,000-12,000.

A bow, which is an archer's savoured armour, too, is very expensive. An aluminum bow could be purchased for about Rs 8,000-12,000. Here too, carbon bows are most sought after. They come in two categories. The Korean ones cost Rs 15,000-18,000 while the ones imported from USA are for Rs 25,000-28,000. These bows help the archers to aim better and increase the speed of the arrows. Besides, these are very light and easy to maneuver.

A set, including both a bow and a dozen arrows can cost an archer about Rs 50,000. Though buying them for personal use maybe out of one's bounds but now, seeing the game's popularity shoot up, state associations are chipping in with their contributions. Most of the teams (states) in the ongoing championship have brought their own sets alongwith to help the shooters. The teams from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur all have four-five sets each for their shooters.

However Bihar, who are sweeping the competitions here, have 20 sets, most of them imported from USA. Their cause is helped by the Tata Academy Jamshedpur, established to take the game to the top. Sanjeev Kumar Singh, an Arjuna Awardee, who also runs the academy and is here as the chief coach of the Bihar contingent, felt that to ease the expenditure the game needed sponsors. ``It is an expensive game but the expenditure is one time as its recurring cost is not much,'' he said.

Those who are not willing to shell out these bucks, there is another way out, as a participant from one of the north-eastern states confirmed. ``We smuggle the bows and arrows from China. Though this is very, very risky, we can save on money thus,'' he said.

A dream (of winning a medal for India in international meet), he says, helps overcome all risks.