Yashin Naidoo, from Rhodes University Archery Club, along with Johan Wilsenach from Mpumalanga, made history as the first junior archers to be selected for the SA Archery Gold squad.
Yashin Naidoo, from Rhodes University Archery Club, along with Johan Wilsenach from Mpumalanga, made history as the first junior archers to be selected for the SA Archery Gold squad.
According to the South African National Archery Association (SANAA), the Gold Squad is made up of elite archers who have reached world standard scores in locally sanctioned tournaments.
For the past decade, the athletes representing South Africa at international archery events have been selected from the squad.
“I am very excited to have been selected for the Gold Squad, as this was one of my short term goals," Yashin said.
As a Gold squad member Yashin is given the opportunity to represent South Africa at international archery events.
Yashin, who turns 15 this year, joined the Rhodes University Archery Club in March 2013. The Grahamstown athlete competed in his first archery competition, in the Standard Bow category, four months later.
In November that same year he started competing in the Recurve Bow division, also known as the Olympic Bow style, since it is the only archery style used in competition at the Olympic Games.
Once Yashin took the Recurve Bow in his hand, he did not look back. In the 12 months that followed he made his mark as a serious competitor, claiming the South African Outdoor and Indoor National Under-15 Recurve Champion titles.
Yashin broke the indoor double game SA National and African record at the 2014 Eastern Cape Indoor Championships, as well as the nine-arrow elimination round SA Indoor National record at the 2014 SA Indoor National Championships.
“My short- to medium-term goals will be to compete in the Youth World Cup later this year and then the Youth Olympics in 2018," Yashin said. "My ultimate goal is to compete in the 2020 Olympics.”
