With the 18th Asian Games just a week away, a group of 25 Bhutanese athletes, who will represent Bhutan at the games, are undergoing intensive training and practice. The athletes will take part in taekwondo, archery, boxing and golf competitions.
The 18th Asian Games is scheduled to be held from 18 August to 2 September in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Palembang, the capital of the South Sumatra province.
The taekwondo team is made up of three girls and five boys.
“We normally practice just in the morning and evening, but now we practice in the afternoons as well, and the morning and evening practice time has been extended by two hours each as well,”Coach Pem Choki said.
The archery team has two women and six men.They have also added extra hours to their training sessions.
“Before, it was from 8 in the morning till 5 in the evening. Now, we train our players from 6 in the morning till 6 in the evening,”Coach Tashi Tshering said.
“Even if we don’t win, we, at least, expect to increase our ranking level.”
In Boxing, a solo woman and six men will compete at the games.
“We are expecting to win this time.Our players have been trained sufficiently,” Boxing Coach Rinzin Dorji said.
And golf will see a lone man,Ugen Dorji, play for the country.
“When I found out I was picked to play at the Asian Games, I was very proud. So, I went to Bangkok to practice. I spent a month there to fine tune my skills because I really want to represent my country well. I would love to do well,”Ugen Dorji said.
At a press conference held in early April this year, the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) had said except for golf, all the other games in which the country is competing were selected based on the performances at the 2016 South Asian Games held in Guwahati and Shillong, India.
The players will leave for Jakarta next Wednesday.
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia.
The first Asian Games was held in the Indian capital New Delhi in 1951.
