A Bull’s Eye for Reshi

Five-year-old Reshi Dev, a Standard 1 student of a city school, has entered the Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records in archery, shooting 2222 arrows in 3 hours and 31 minutes.

At an event held in the city on Independence Day, the little master astonished the audience, including the judge, Vivek R Nair from India and Asia Book of Records, with his proficiency.

“Right from the age of three he showed interest in archery,” says Reshi’s proud father Jayakumar. “Actually, we took him for football coaching. There he saw archery being practiced by bigger boys and he said he was keen to shoot arrows. What started casually became his passion. Earlier, he won the Gold Medal at the TN State-level competition," he adds.

The child has been training under Mani Vasagam, who runs the popular Vill Archery Group of Academies in Chennai.

Says Mani Vasagam, “Reshi has tremendous potential and his speed is something which amazed me. I suggested to his parents that Reshi could try to set world records.”

The coach says he noticed that both in the Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records, the record was shooting 1800 arrows in 6 hours. “Since there were no playgrounds open during the lockdown, I trained Reshi for 6 to 7 hours a day at his house from March 2020 onwards,” Mani Vasagam explained. And the hard work paid off!

What next? “Reshi will now attempt to create a world record in the 'Blind Shooting Challenge' - he will shoot the arrows with closed eyes. He has already started practicing for that. He might take a shot at setting a record  in a couple of months,” says Jayakumar. 

The Covid 19 lockdown did not deter five-year-old Reshi Dev from his dream of creating records in archery. Yes, the Grade 1 student form a city’s school, Reshi has entered into world records- Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records.

He cast a spell on the audience at an event held in the city on August 15, Independence Day, as the little master proficiently released the arrows.

“Right from the age of three he showed interest in archery. Actually, we took him for football coaching. There he saw archery being practiced by bigger boys and he said he was keen to shoot arrows. What started casually became his passion. Earlier he won Gold Medal at TN state level competition," says Jayakumar, the proud father of Reshi. The boy has been getting trained under his mentor Mani Vasagam, who runs the popular Vill Archery Group of Academies in Chennai.

Says his coach Mani Vasagam, “Reshi has tremendous potential and his ‘speed’ is something which amazed me. That’s when I suggested to his parents that Reshi could make attempts in creating world records.

We noticed that both in Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records, the earlier record created was shooting 1800 arrows in 6 hours. Since there were no playgrounds open during the lockdown, I trained him for 6 to 7 hours in a day at his house from March 2020 onwards.

Reshi created a new record by shooting 2222 arrows in 3 hours 31 minutes, thus astonishing everyone including the jury Vivek R Nair from India and Asia Book of Records and the chief guests."

What next? “Reshi’s next world record attempt is 'Blind Shooting Challenge'. Which means he will close his eyes and shoot the arrows. He started practicing for that from now onwards. He might take this record attempt in a couple of months,” concludes his father.