Indian Archer Shoots An Arrow Through The Neck Of A Fellow Trainee In Freak Accident

In what turned out to be a freak accident, an Indian archer survived a close shave with death after an arrow shot by a trainee pierced her throat during a practice session at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in West Bengal. Taking a break from her practice session, budding archer Fazila Khatun was sitting in the shade a few meters away from the target when a misfired arrow hit her. Another archer, Jewel Shaikh, was honing his skills at the same time when he misfired an arrow and rather than hitting the target, it pierced through Fazila's skin on the right side of her neck. "There were four of us who were training. The turn of the other two had gotten over and then Fazila and I were practising. I was shooting, and the girl suddenly came close. And she was hit," Shaikh revealed. Immediately after the incident, Fazila was taken to the Bolpur sub-divisional hospital with the arrow stuck to her neck. Later, she underwent a surgery where the doctors removed the arrow. Thankfully, the arrow didn't pierce her wind pipe, which would have been catastrophic. Terming it "accidental", SAI regional director MS Goindi said the arrow pierced through the collarbone of Fazila Khatun, but she is "out of danger" recovering at the hospital. "The girl was taking rest at a shade a few meters away from the target when the misfired arrow hit her. We have spoken to her family members and the girl has also apologised realising that she should not be sitting close to the target," Goindi was quoted as saying by the TOI. A promising recurve archer, Fazila made the cut as one of the 23 SAI trainees after a trial and district competition in July earlier this year. She was preparing for the Inter-SAI tournament slated to begin next month.