With only around a week to go for the Paris Olympics, India is ready with a contingent of 117 athletes to appear in the Games. Amongst other sports, Archery has always been a ray of hope for India considering the consistency Indian archers show in the global tournaments. This time around India has announced a contingent of six archers for the Paris Olympics and the nation is hopeful that they will get a medal or two from the performances of the Indian athletes.
- History of the sport
Archery can be classified into two eras - the early era and the modern era. The sport featured in the editions of 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1920 during the early era but the competition format needed to be more consistent. It was based on local rules and so the sport made sporadic appearances in the history of the Games. However, World Archery was formed in 1931 to rejoin the Games.
The sport made its return to the Olympic Programme in the 1972 edition and has featured in each edition since then. From 1972 to 1984, individual events were played but the team event was also added to the fray in the 1988 edition. The mixed team event was added in the 2020 edition but India is yet to win any medal in the sport and they will be aiming for a podium finish in the upcoming edition.
- Greats of the Game
Hubert van Innis of Belgium dominated the early era winning six golds and three silver medals at the Olympics in 1900 and 1920. Kim Soo-Nyung of Korea is the most successful archer in the modern era bagging four gold medals, one silver and one bronze at the Olympic Games in 1988, 1992 and 2000.
Darrell Pace of the USA is the sole archer to win the individual event twice winning gold at the Montreal 1976 and Los Angeles 1984. Korea has been the most successful nation in the sport amassing a total of 39 medals including 23 golds and they will present a formidable challenge to the rival countries this time around as well.
- Indian Contingent
Dhiraj Bommadevara - World No. 12, Dhiraj had a massive surge in global rankings since 2019. Also, he has a win percentage of 81 this season. The 22-year-old has played four tournaments this year and managed two podium finishes. He first fetched a gold in the Baghdad Asia Cup Leg 1 but then finished ninth and 17th place in the Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Shanghai and Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Yecheon. He then bagged a gold in the Archery World Cup stage 3 played in Antalya.
Considering his performances this season and his progress over the years, Dhiraj can secure a podium finish but the road will be difficult for him with a tough challenge from Chinese and Korean archers.
Tarundeep Rai - Despite having three Olympic appearances in his bag, Tarundeep hasn’t been able to manage to go beyond the second round of the competition. The world no. 31 has a win percentage of 64 this season which doesn't paint a very good picture. He has played four competitions this year but only a silver in the Asia Cup leg 1 was a good performance. He has faltered in the Archery World Cups so the experienced archer doesn’t seem to have a very bright chance of winning an Olympic medal.
Pravin Jadhav - Ranked no. 114, Pravin represented the country in the 2021 Olympics in the individual event but exited from the second round only. A win percentage of only 43 will be a cause of concern for the archer when he competes with the best in the business in Paris. He hasn't been able to secure a podium finish in any of the tournaments this year and it will be a sign of worry for the Indian contingent.
Deepika Kumari - Former world no.1, Deepika is undoubtedly the most decorated Indian archer ever. She has won a plethora of trophies but when it comes to the Olympics, the 30-year-old hasn’t been able to live up to her stature with her performances with the quarterfinal finish in the Tokyo Olympics being her best. Currently ranked 12, Deepika has a win percentage of 75 this season. A gold in Baghdad Asia Cup Leg 1 and a silver in the Archery World Cup Stage 1 this year makes her a strong contender once again but she has to change the result this time around.
Bhajan Kaur - The 18-year-old archer is ranked 45 across the globe and she will have an opportunity to ink history in her maiden Olympic appearance. She has played five tournaments this year and only a gold in the Olympic Qualifiers was her best outing. Her win percentage this season is 64 but a lack of exposure at the global stage might hamper her progress in the Olympics.
Ankita Bhakat - World no. 40, Ankita has a win percentage of 60 this season and it will be her maiden Olympic appearance. No podium finish this year makes the chances of the 26-year-old archer bagging a medal quite slim.
India’s Track Record
Indian team first set their archers in the 1988 Olympics but it was a disappointing outing for the nation. The country then sent an archery team frequently but none of the archers were able to secure a top-20 finish in the individual event and they also faltered in the team event very often.
In the 2004 Athens, Satyadev Prasad finished at the 10th position in the men’s individual event while Reena Kumari finished at the 15th position. The women’s team dished out an impressive show by concluding the Games in eighth position. However, Indian archers haven’t been able to up their performances in the next editions and India is yet to win a medal in archery.
Basic Rules
Recurve is the only accepted form of archery which means that the archers are allowed to use only recurve bow in the Games. In each fixture, athletes take on each other in a best-of-five-ends format similar to Tennis. Each end consists of three arrows. In the team event, four sets are played with each set including six arrows (two per archer). Each team is allotted a quota of two minutes to shoot their permitted number of arrows.
Five archery events are played at the Olympics.
- Men's individual
- Women's individual
- Men's team
- Women's team
- Mixed team Event
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