From the farmlands in Punjab to the archery range in Dhaka

After completing their ranking rounds on Sunday, Aman Ullah and Asif Mahmood were seen strolling along the athletics track of Dhaka's National Stadium.

The two Pakistanis, both competing in the 24th Teer Asian Archery Championships, have travelled to Bangladesh for the first time -- not as professional athletes, but as farmers turned archers.

Hailing from Multan and Faisalabad, the pair juggle their passion for archery with their main livelihood -- farming rice, wheat, maize and sugarcane.

"We are farmers from Punjab," Aman said with a grin. "We work in the fields most of the time, and practise archery whenever we can."

Pakistan sent three competitors -- Aman, Asif and Rizwan Faheem -- for the men's recurve event. Aman finished 53rd with a score of 588, while Asif, who trained for only 50 days before the event, scored 579 to place 57th.

Archery remains a niche sport in Pakistan, with only about 500 active archers nationwide. Aman lamented the lack of support from their federation, saying,

"Our federation never really thinks about developing archery. You can tell by looking at our situation."

Despite modest results, Asif was upbeat about his Dhaka experience.

"There's no difference between Karachi and Dhaka -- maybe just the traffic!" he joked. "The people here are warm and welcoming. We're brothers, after all."

A cricket-loving nation has left little room for archery, yet Asif's passion was sparked by a video he saw online.

 "I fell in love with it instantly," he said. "One day we'll win gold. If our federation supports us, Inshallah we'll bring a medal home."

From the farmlands of Punjab to the shooting lines of Dhaka, Aman and Asif have proved that even without podium finishes, the bow and arrow can still inspire hope and pride.