Farmer's son Akash Malik claims India's maiden archery silver at Youth Olympic Games
Buenos Aires, Oct 18: Akash Malik became India's first silver-medallist in archery at the Youth Olympic Games, providing a fitting finale to the country's best-ever campaign at the marquee event here.
The 15-year-old son of a farmer lost a one-sided final to Trenton Cowles of the USA 0-6 as India concluded with three gold, nine silver, and one bronze at the event that was launched in 2010.
Seeded fifth after qualification, the Haryana-boy was inconsistent in the summit clash against the 15th seed Cowles, who only shot in 10s and 9s to wrap it up easily.
In the three-setter, both the archers shot four perfect 10s, but Akash's two wayward 6s in the first and the third set proved to be the decisive factor.
"I have trained in the wind, but here it was too much," said Akash.
"I feel good but I lost the gold medal," added the school-boy after bettering Atul Verma's feat of a bronze at the Nanjing edition of the Games in 2014.
Akash took up archery six years ago after Manjeet Malik, a physical-trainer-turned-archery-coach, picked him during a trial.
"He was very calm and composed and I thought he could shoot arrows steadily. He now shoots with confidence. It was raining as well when the final started," the coach told PTI.
In 2014, Akash was part of the recurve boys team which won a gold medal at the mini national (under-14) archery championship in Vijayawada.
Akash went on to clinch a gold medal in the Youth Olympics qualifying event last year.
He also won a gold medal at Asia Cup Stage-I, two bronze in Asia Cup Stage-II and a silver and a bronze in the South Asian championship, in the last one year.
"It's indeed a proud moment for me and all the hard work is now paying off," Malik, who has about 80 students at his private academy, said.
Akash is currently enrolled by the Olympic Gold Quest and trains under South Korean coach Kim Hagyong at the Army Sports Institute in Pune.
Making a solid start to the final, Akash started off with a 10 but then he shot a 6 in his second arrow and concluded the first set with another perfect 10.
The American, on the other hand, remained consistent with scores of 10, 9, 9 to take the first set 28-26.
Stepping up his game, Cowles shot two 10s and a 9 in the second set to win it 29-27.
Under pressure in the third set, Akash shot another six that ruined his chances of a gold medal. He finished with two 10s but Cowles remained steady and sealed the issue 28-26 in the third set.
Earlier, Akash finished in the last eight of the mixed international team event partnering Turkey's Selin Satir. The duo lost in the quarter-finals to Thailand's Aitthiwat Soithong and Argentina's Agustina Sofia Giannasio.
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Thousands of women offer pongala at Attukal Bhagavathy temple
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Thousands of women from across Kerala and outside the state offered 'pongala' to the presiding deity of the Attukal Bhagavathy temple here on Tuesday, braving the hot weather and turning the state capital into a huge 'yagyashala'.
Women, of various ages and wearing caps or white shawls over their heads, were ready since last night with their makeshift brick stoves along the roads for several kms in the heart of the city.
The rituals began around 9.45 am when the chief priest lit the main stove (Pandara Aduppu) near the shrine, signaling the start of the annual event.
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As the drum beats and music signalled the lighting of the main stove near the shrine, the women, waiting on the roadsides and specifically designated areas for the ritual, lit their brick stoves and began preparing the 'pongala'.
The 'pongala' is cooked using rice, jaggery, and scraped coconut in fresh earthen or metal pots.
AICC general secretary in-charge of Kerala, Deepa Dasmunshi, also participated in the ritual, the first time for her.
"This a very well-known festival. People all around the world know about it. It is a divine thing with women sitting together and making their offerings. I am making 'payasam'," she told a TV channel.
Union Minister of State for Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shobha Karandlaje also participated in the festival.
LDF ministers V Sivankutty, G R Anil and V N Vasavan, Congress MLA M Vincent, grand old party leader K Muraleedharan, BJP leader and former Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Thiruvananthapuram corporation Mayor V V Rajesh were among the political leaders present at the Attukal Bhagavathy temple to witness the ceremony.
Speaking to media, Vasavan said arrangements were made expecting a larger turnout than in previous years and everything worked out as planned.
"There will be no hassles in the return journey of the devotees. Steps have been taken to provide food, water and other facilites to ensure a smooth pilgrimage for the devotees," the minister said.
Chandrasekhar said he was proud and happy to see the festival's size and scale.
"This is Keralam, God's own country. We respect all religions. We all should celebrate all festivals, be it Attukal Pongala or Christmas, together irrespective of religion, that is our view," he told a channel.
Preparing 'pongala' is considered an auspicious all-women ritual as part of the annual festival of the Attukal temple here, popularly known as the "Women's Sabarimala."
The ceremony will conclude with the sprinkling of holy water by temple priests at an appointed time in the afternoon.
Extensive arrangements were made by the authorities to provide food, water and medical aid to the devotees.
The police, fire department and Railways have put in place arrangements, including restrictions on vehicular movement and parking, to ensure the festival is celebrated without any mishap or inconvenience to the general public.
The pongala festival marks the finale of the 10-day ritual at the shrine.
The festival begins with the "Kappukettu ceremony," featuring the musical rendition of the Goddess's story (Kannaki Charitam) by authorised families invoking the presence of Kodungallur Bhagavathy and the slaying of the Pandiyan King.
The nine-day recitation culminates in a dramatic moment marked by temple drums and devotees' chants, leading to the lighting of stoves for the Pongala offering, symbolising the triumph of good over evil.
The ritual had made it to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2009 for being the largest religious gathering of women on a single day when 2.5 million took part in it.
As per local legend, the annual festival commemorates the hospitality accorded by women in the locality to Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic 'Silappadhikaram', after she destroyed Madurai city to avenge the execution of her husband Kovalan, for wrongly branding him as "thief".
VIDEO | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Thousands of devotees participate in the Attukal Pongala festival at Attukal Bhagavathy Temple.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 3, 2026
(Full video available on https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/nlhaJHiPgY
