updated 4:05 p.m. ET Aug. 12, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - It’s not quite genteel and can even get a bit wild. But that’s the way they like their archery in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Wayward arrows, fired over long distances, sometimes miss the small targets and send the opposing team scattering. Even shots on the mark can be swatted away by those willing to take the risk. Cheerleaders and taunters take over when the action wanes. Competitors remain on guard for ancient curses and hexes.

“The Olympics are totally different from home,” said Tshering Chhoden, 24, one of the two archers that comprise the entire Bhutan athletic delegation. “Archery is a passion for us.”

One that’s under some pressure.

Soccer, cricket and even basketball have crept into the once-isolated country to challenge the centuries-old dominance of archery. That makes the Olympics more than just a hunt for Bhutan’s first medal since entering the games in 1984. Two soft-spoken archers are hoping to inspire a new generation to keep up the sport.

“We are shooting also for our culture,” said Bhutan’s entry in the men’s field, 26-year-old Tashi Peljor.

King interested in ‘gross domestic happiness’
The Olympics are full of such overlooked — but fascinating — footnotes that have huge resonance in far-flung corners of the world but merit barely a blip amid the hype of the games. Few places are as singular as Bhutan, where the king once famously said he was more interested in “gross domestic happiness” than soul-sapping progress.

The country only opened to foreigners 30 years ago and still fewer than 10,000 tourists are granted visas each year. Nearly everyone wears traditional costumes — a robe for men and ankle-length dress for women — and the deep influence of Buddhism is evident from awesome monasteries to prayer flags on the hills.

But the outside world is closing in fast. Mobile phones are available. Internet access recently arrived. Cable television brings in dozens of channels.

“You know something? Not all of the programs are good. It can be disappointing,” wryly noted Dhruba Kumar Chhetri, secretary-general of the Bhutan Olympic Committee.

Among the offerings for Bhutan channel surfers: soccer from the world’s top leagues, cricket from neighboring India and NBA slam dunks. There are rumors the king’s son picked up a good game of hoop while studying in Britain.

“I can’t deny that many young people in our country are attracted by these modern sports,” Chhetri said. “I don’t think archery is in danger. It’s in our blood. It’s part of our culture. But we can’t ignore that things are changing. This is why events like the Olympics are important. They help remind everyone that archery is our national sport.”

Bhutan's archery has military roots
Its roots in Bhutan come from military defense. Archers would perch on ridges and summits and fire down on invaders in the valleys. The traditional bow and arrow is crafted from bamboo. Pheasant is the preferred tail feather and its affixed with fish skin glue. The Olympic equipment is lightweight aluminum and other compounds that fling the arrow at about 220 feet per second.

“We see ourselves a little like cultural ambassadors,” said Chhoden, the woman archer. “Bhutan would not be Bhutan without archery.”

Chhoden’s brother — one of Bhutan’s top archers in the 1990s — got her interested in the sport when she was young. She had to wait, however, until girls were allowed to compete about a decade ago.

In Sydney, Chhoden was knocked out in the first round. For Peljor, it’s his first games.

On Thursday, she took her place on a lawn ringed by fir trees next to the Olympic Village for the important ranking round among the 64 women. It determines the elimination matchups Sunday when the competition moves to the marble stadium in central Athens that hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896.

Chhoden wore a green cap with a rip-off New York Yankees logo above the brim. Many archers decorate their arrow bags with special charms and talisman. Chhoden has a Greek evil eye and a quirky gift from the Korean team: a key chain for an archery school.

Down the line, photographers crowded around German archer Cornelia Pfohl, who is 30 weeks pregnant and displays a noticeable belly, and Janet Dykman of El Monte, Calif., who at 50 is one of the oldest Olympians. When Chhoden finished her round, she sat next to her coach in the shade and goes over her shots.

Chhoden finished 54th - meaning she faces the 10th-place finisher, Hui Ju Wu of Taiwan.

“With archery, it’s mind and body,” she said. “This sport is so much a mental thing. I pray for calm and strength. That’s all I can do.”