The World Archery Excellence Centre in Lausanne hosted a group of coaches as part of a Level 2 coaching course from 23 to 27 March 2026.
Fifteen participants (four women and 11 men), including 14 from India and one from Chinese Taipei, successfully completed the programme. The course was led by Tim Swane (Great Britain), supported by Bernardo Oliveira (Brazil).
During the session, delegates presented Siret Luik, World Archery head of education, with a traditional Indian bow. Crafted by Ganesh Vishwakarma, one of the participating coaches, who also successfully completed the course, it will now be displayed at the Excellence Centre.
“I am happy to add a bamboo bow from India to the display in the World Archery Excellence Centre,” said Luik. “We already have a collection of ancient bows and arrows from Peru, previously gifted by one of our members.”
The traditional Indian bow plays a central role in grassroots archery development in India. While it performs similarly to a recurve bow, it can be produced at a significantly lower cost, making the sport more accessible.
“We cannot deny that high-level archery equipment can be expensive, especially when it needs to be imported,” said Luik. “This bow is an excellent example that, in a lack of resources, we need to be more creative – a symbol of seeing a solution instead of a problem.”
She added that bamboo bows contribute significantly to grassroots development and the popularisation of archery in India.
“At a coaching level, these bows are a great way to teach good recurve technique at a really affordable price,” said Swane. “They behave like a high-performance recurve but allow for much greater participation of children where families are on a tight budget.”
