BY ALISTER TAYLOR



USA, Aug 31 (VNN) — Chaitanya Taylor with Olympic Training Center Coach MJ Rogers in front of his gold medal winning score at the National JOAD Archery Tournament in Denver.

Chaitanya (Chaiti) Taylor, 13, from Imperial Beach, CA competed with 300 top archers from 35 states and Canada in Denver, CO June 27-29 during the 22nd Annual Junior National Outdoor Archery Championships.



After a closely fought battle Chaitanya came from behind in the second day of shooting to narrowly win the Gold medal and the United States National
Chaitanya Taylor shooting on the way to his gold medal winning score at the National JOAD Archery Tournament in Denver
Title for the male Olympic 13 to 14 year old Division with a personal best score of 1315 out of a possible 1440.

Archers shoot 36 arrows at four different distances over two days of shooting. It is test of physical stamina and mental toughness for the junior archers who had to contend with changing weather conditions and the heat and altitude of Denver.

The tournament, sponsored by the National Archery Association, the governing body of the United States Olympic Archery Team, is designed to encourage and develop young archers in this Olympic sport on both a Regional and National level leading to United States National Team and United States Olympic Team participation.

Chaitanya, the current California State Champion in the Cub division, moved to Imperial Beach in September last year and has been training at the ARCO Olympic training center in Chula Vista for the last 6 months under the watchful eye of Resident Olympic coach MJ Rogers.

He originally fostered an interest in archery while at the Tulequoia YMCA camp near the Sequoia National Park.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to train under one of the best archery coaches in the country and have the association of the many Olympic archers at the ARCO center. Everyone has been very helpful and friendly there," says Chaitanya.

Chaitanya, who was schooled in a traditional Gurukula Ashram in India for nearly 3 years, has also been inspired in his archery because of his love of the great Indian classic the Mahabharata, which is published in America by his father's publishing company Torchlight Publishing.

"Arjuna (a principal character in the Mahabharata) was one of the greatest archers of all time and I always felt inspired by his devotion and skill which he only used to fight for what was right and true," said Chaitanya.

Chaitanya is training to be a contender for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.