Garcia fires to national archery record

DARNELL Garcia (South Arrows Archery Club) posted a new Cadet Men Recurve 18M 60 Arrow national record score of 533 points on his way to capturing this year’s title, at the TT Target Archery Federation (TTTAF) National Youth Indoor Championships, on February 9.

Garcia topped the field in both the ranking and elimination rounds, surpassing the four-year record of 524 points set by Omprakaash Singh in March 2016, at the South Caribbean Championships, in Barbados.

His performance was also integral towards his club topping the medal standings with its haul of 11 (six gold, four silver and one bronze). Central Precision bagged nine (two gold, five silver and two bronze) while Southern Bowtech grabbed seven (two gold, one silver and four bronze).

At last year’s indoor tourney, the young archer placed sixth and finished 2019 as the second ranked Men’s Recurve Cadet. Firing to runner-up spot at the 2020 edition was Points Archery Club’s Rahul Mahabir (524pts) while Southern Bowtec’s Matthew Sonnilal (441pts) was third overall.

After his record breaking performance, Garcia credited his success to long hours of preparation ahead of the meet. Although elated, he admitted shattering the Cadet Men Recurve record was not part of his of plans.

“I spent the past few weeks practising. I thought the record was going to be higher than it actually was so I didn’t go into the competition really thinking about it. I just wanted to do the best I could and surprised myself on the day. It’s a great success and accomplishment, not only for my abilities but all the hard work I put in for the past few weeks,” he said.

During the opening rounds of the elimination, Garcia had a shaky start but shot himself back into contention as they stages progressed.

“I had to go back to a lot of mental techniques I learnt over the years. I was doubting my own abilities and needed to reassure myself. I went into a sort of mental flow state that allowed me to constantly shoot at the best of my ability. For the final round, I felt like it was just me and the target. I just wanted to shoot at the best of my ability and compete with archers who have been shooting for a multitude of years,” he added.

Also among the medals in other divisions were South Arrows, Central Precision, Munroe Road and Tobago Precision.

Full Results

Recurve Junior Men – 1. Joseph Springer (AAC Academy); 2. Cornelius Enill (AAC Academy); 3. Jonathan Francis (Munroe Road)

Recurve Junior Women – 1. Shemariah Ali (Points); 2. Janae Steadman (Southern Bowtec); 3. Asiyah Kallo (Southern Bowtec)

Recurve Cadet Men – 1. Darnell Garcia (South Arrows); 2. Rahul Mahabir (Points); 3. Matthew Sonnilal (Southern Bowtec)

Recurve Cadet Women – 1. Kaylee Gopee (South Arrows); 2. Amelia Bryant; 3. Sara Hypolite (both of Central Precision)

Recurve Cub Men – 1. Josiah Ramchandar; 2. Musa Ali (both of South Arrows); 3. Joshua Ragbir (Central Precision)

Recurve Cub Women – 1. Karisa Bryan; 2. Satisha Boodram (both of Central Precision); 3. Mariah Khan (Southern Bowtec)

Recurve Benjamin Men – 1. Aurav Singh (Munroe Road); 2. Yuvraj Dookran (Central Precision)

Recurve Benjamin Women – 1. Candace Johnson (Southern Bowtec); 2. Anthurium Lewis (Tobago Precision); 3. Kayla Francis (Munroe Road)

Compound Junior Men – 1. Daryus Ramkalawan (Central Precision); 2. Orlando Radix (Central Precision)

Compound Cadet Men – 1. Kayden Singh (AAC Academy); 2. Justin Ramkalawan (Central Precision)

Compound Cadet Women – 1. Shanta Roochand (Southern Bowtec); 2. Antoinette Lewis (Tobago Precision); 3. Shanelle Kanhai (South Arrows)

Compound Cub Men – 1. Markus Mahabir (Points); 2. Kymani Charles (South Arrows)

Compound Cub Women – 1. Anuradha Jaikaran (South Arrows); 2. Alyssa Krisendath (South Arrows); 3. Mayah Khan (Southern Bowtec)

Compound Benjamin Women – 1. Jessica Sookdeo (South Arrows); 2. Shanna Lochan (South Arrows)

Compound Junior Women – 1. Brieanna Ali (South Arrows)