“Only the process”: Ganesh Mani Ratnam on his Asian Games gold and bronze

Before the final arrow of the men’s compound team gold-medal match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 30, the Andhra Pradesh archer Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru, 20, had one thought. “Every time I shoot, it is about the process, only the process,” he said. “I tell myself to keep trusting my shooting and keep believing in myself.”

The trust was rewarded. Ganesh, Sahil Rajesh Jadhav and Kushal Dalal beat China 238-237 after a final-end comeback. India opened with a 58, and China answered with 60, 60 and 59. “On the last 10, China shot an eight, and we got a perfect 60,” he recalled.

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On October 1, Ganesh added the individual bronze, beating Vietnam’s Cong Duc Dang 149-144 in the medal match. He found the 10-ring with 14 of his 15 arrows.

The route began in Naidupeta, near Nellore, where he took up karate around 2015. A year later, his first coach, Shivashankar, brought a bow to demonstrate the sport. “I became interested and told my parents about it,” he said.

His father, Hari Prasad, a tollway supervisor, backed him. “From the start, my parents did not let me know about the difficulties they were facing.” His first Nationals, the School Games in Manipur, came in 2017.

In Class VI, he was selected for a State-run sports scheme and moved to Sanskruthi Global School in Parawada, Visakhapatnam, a school that prioritises sports. He later moved to Bhimavaram after meeting the coach Kamal Kishore at the Chief Minister’s Cup in Rajamahendravaram, and completed Classes XI and XII at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s school there.

He shifted to Sonipat in 2025 to train under Kamal Kishore. He is pursuing BCA Data Science at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, which has provided him equipment and academic support.

The Indian Olympic Association, the Sports Authority of India and the Archery Association of India organised a two-week camp before the Games, which helped the squad adjust to wind, climate, food and sleep. A psychologist and a physiologist worked with the archers, and Indian food was arranged.

His pre-match routine is deliberately plain. “I don’t implement anything new or do anything different for the competition,” he said. “I do the same things as in practice.”

It was his first Asian Games, and the double medal came on debut. “This was my first Asian Games, so I have got a lot of information about what I should do,” he said. Competing against senior archers, he added, “has given me a lot of confidence.”

Next are the Asia Cups and then the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, where compound archery makes its debut. An Olympic medal in the archery event is his final goal, he said. He thanked the State Archery Association, the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, Olympic Gold Quest and his family.