A new year and another Olympics bring renewed hopes for Indian archers, who aim to break their long-standing medal jinx at the Games. Since their debut in 1988, Indian archers have been regular participants but have yet to clinch a medal. The quest begins anew as the archers kick off their Paris campaign on Thursday with the qualification rounds at the historic Les Invalides gardens.
For the first time since the London 2012 Olympics, India boasts a full six-member squad, with both the men’s and women’s teams qualifying based on rankings. This means they will compete in all five events, setting high expectations for a breakthrough performance.
Veterans Tarundeep Rai and Deepika Kumari, both appearing in their fourth Olympics, will lead their younger teammates, aiming for at least a top-10 finish in the qualification round to secure a favorable draw. Each archer will shoot 72 arrows, with scores from the qualification round determining the seeds for the main knockout competition, which begins with the women’s team finals on Sunday.
The qualification round is crucial for the Indian archers, who have previously faltered in seedings, often facing formidable opponents like Korea early in the knockout stages. At the Tokyo Olympics, all the male archers finished outside the top 30, earning a ninth-place team seeding, while Deepika, the sole woman archer, also ranked ninth. Both lost to top-seed Koreans in the quarterfinals.
India’s high-performance director Sanjeeva Singh emphasized Deepika’s potential, noting her ability to shoot perfect 10s but also highlighting her inconsistency under pressure. “If she overcomes her mental blockade, there is no stopping her,” Singh said.
Dhiraj and Deepika, if they excel in their ranking rounds, could form a formidable recurve mixed team, combining Dhiraj’s composure with Deepika’s skills. Meanwhile, the women’s team, aside from Deepika, lacks Olympic experience. Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur, debuting at the Games, have shown promise with a World Cup Stage-4 bronze in 2023 and an Asian Games bronze last year.
Ankita, 26, hailing from Bengal and representing Tata Academy, has a collection of World Cup team medals, including a gold and silver won in Paris in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
The archers’ Olympic build-up faced a setback with the return of their foreign coach, Baek Woong Ki, to India due to accreditation issues. Baek, contracted by the Archery Association of India for the Olympics, had accompanied the team to a preparatory camp but had to return after the AAI failed to secure accreditation for him, highlighting internal conflicts with the national federation (IOA).
Despite these challenges, the Indian archers are determined to make their mark and aim for their first-ever Olympic medal in Paris.
