The wait for three-time Olympian Limba Ram could have been longer as the archer, who has won an Arjun award, had to wait for 15 long years to walk into the Sports Council office in Sawai Man Singh Stadium. On Monday, Limba Ram’s wait finally came to an end when he took charge as field director of rural sports.
And despite the delay, Limba Ram is still a happy man. “Sportspersons from the rural areas have huge potential to win medals at the Olympics. My first aim would be to search the talent from the rural areas of the state and send them for coaching to better places like Tata Academy in Jamshedpur and Army Centre in Pune,” he said. He has already directed his clerk to shoot a message regarding this to all 25 rural sports centres. The centres have been directed to send a list of the best players from their respective areas.
Limba Ram, who is a native of Udaipur, emerged into the international scenario from a rural area where facilities for sportspersons were almost negligible. And following his success, it was decided to appoint him as the ambassador for rural sports. “I was honoured when chief minister Vasundhara Raje promoted rural sports with me as its ambassador,” he said.
With the setting up of 25 sports centres in different parts of the state, the Rajasthan government is searching for talent in the rural areas.
Apart from archery, Limba Ram would be responsible for honing talent in hockey, kaba- ddi, volleyball, boxing, handball, kho kho and football.
Limba Ram, however, would still prefer to coach young archers. “I will continue coaching youngsters at the stadium,” he said.
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