Rhodes University Archery Club hosted the Eastern Cape Target Championships on Sunday 11 March 2018. In addition to hosting a successful event, Rhodes Archery Club could celebrate a strong performance from all of their archers. However, it was Yashin Naidoo, Derryn Nel, and James McAlpine that really shone in the Grahamstown sun on the day.
Naidoo, took home the gold in the Recurve Junior Men division, while Nel and McAlpine, both students at Rhodes, won gold in the Compound Women’s and Compound Men’s competitions respectfully.
McAlpine and Nel have been competing on a national level since 2017, and racked up a number of medals in that time. Nel has won a total of three gold and one silver medals in various events over this time period. McAlpine has a total of three gold, two silver and one bronze medals in a number of competing in the same period. McAlpine has also earned his Eastern Cape Provincial Colours for Outdoor Archery.
However, the star of the trio lies in the youngster, Naidoo, who has represented South Africa at the 2017 World Archery Youth Championships, as well as earning his SA National and Eastern Cape Provincial Colours. Naidoo has held the National Champion title every year since 2014 in Recurve U15 and Recurve Cadet Men. Naidoo has broken 6 SA National records in Recurve U15 and Recurve Cadet men. He also made history as being the first junior archer to be selected as a SA Archery Gold Squad athlete, and he has broken 8 South African records, two of which are African records during the same period.
“While winning a medal is always rewarding, it is also a reminder to stay focused,” Naidoo said, ” Archery is a challenging sport on many levels, so I try to keep my focus on my short and long terms goals.”
Photo: Supplied
