Archery is one of the sports disciplines recognized by the Ministry in charge of Sports in the country. With its particularities, this sport is practiced by few young people in Conakry. A discipline that seems easy to practice, but struggles to attract more young people to its practice.
In the courtyard of the old stadium of September 28 in Dixinn, the world is almost always full every evening. These are young people who come to train there in the sport of their choice. Like all other sports, archery also attracts some young people. Barely ten with a majority dominated by girls, these young people also want to have a good career in this sport.
Hawa Somparé is an archer and she was crowned champion of Guinea in 2014 in the 30 meter category. With this title, the young girl has set herself the ambition of representing Guinea at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in this discipline.
« From the beginning, I had goals in mind and until now, they are the same. It is to represent Guinea at the Olympic Games,” she explains.
This sporting activity, which consists of shooting their arrows at the center of a target but using a bow, is struggling to find fulfillment in Guinea. With often limited means, this sport is practiced with great difficulty.
For the national technical director of the Guinean Archery Federation, the sport is practiced with fairly limited means. ” VSach year, we receive enough requests to join this discipline. Unfortunately, archery is not like other sports. I want to talk about football where with a single piece of equipment you can bring together several people. With us, the material is a little specific, it is individual. But unfortunately it is not found locally and it is excessively expensive. With limited means, we cannot meet all these demands with the lack of equipment, etc. explained Saa François Hamza Komano.
Nevertheless, some archers manage to represent the country on the continent. Like Fatoumata Sylla who will represent Guinea at the Islamic Games in Turkey. For her, the only goal is to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. My dream is to be African champion. I told myself that I am going to prepare myself to at least qualify Guinean archery for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games”, he wishes.
Very little known to the general Guinean sporting public, archery struggles to attract people to its practice, unlike football. The prize list of this discipline is, according to the national technical director, 69 medals including 22 gold in the various competitions in which the country has participated.
Mamadou Saliou Diallo, intern
