Archers eye maiden high!

Deepika Kumari. PICS/GETTY IMAGES

A different year and another Olympics, but for Indian archers, the target will be the same - fetching their first-ever medal at the Games. More or less regular at the Olympics since debuting back in 1988, the archers will kick off the nation's Paris campaign today with the qualification rounds here.

Full six-member squad

For the first time after London 2012, India will have a full six-member squad after both the men's and women's teams qualified on the basis of rankings. This means they will compete in all the five events. Veterans Tarundeep Rai and Deepika Kumari, appearing in their fourth Olympics, will lead their young teammates, hoping to securing at least a Top-10 finish in the qualification round to ensure a favourable draw. Each archer will shoot 72 arrows and the scores in the qualification round of 128 athletes from 53 countries will decide the seeds for the main knockout competition, beginning with the women's team finals on Sunday.

The qualifying round will be crucial for the Indians, who have often slipped in the seedings and ended up losing to heavyweights Korea, tipped to top the qualifications. At the Tokyo Olympics, all the male archers finished outside the Top-30 and got the ninth seeding as a team. Deepika, the sole woman archer there, also got a ninth place in rankings. Both ended up losing to Koreans in the quarters. On the form front, India will have high hopes from the men's team, which won a historic World Cup this year in Shanghai, upsetting Korea for the first time in a final.

Dhiraj, a bright prospect

They will have the experience in Rai and Tokyo Olympian Pravin Jadhav, while debutant Dhiraj Bommadevara will be on a high after beating Tokyo Olympics silver-medallist Mauro Nespoli of Italy en route a bronze at the World Cup Stage-3 in Antalya just a month back. Individually, Dhiraj is seen as a bright prospect as he has tasted success by winning the Asian Games team silver last year.

Known to be "ice cool" in tough situations, Dhiraj would look to overcome the bitter memories of the Hangzhou Asian Games where he botched up his release twice to exit in the individual quarters.

Also Read: 'It's a now-or-never situation for me': Tarundeep Rai

Deepika will fight against herself in a redemption act. All eyes would be on her, especially after her stunning comeback to win a World Cup Stage-1 silver in Shanghai in April this year, less than 16 months after becoming a mother. Last time in Tokyo, An San of Korea was her nemesis as she went on to become the gold-medallist.

There is no An this time, but they have another Korean in Lim Si-hyeon, who has defeated Deepika twice this year, including in the Shanghai World Cup final. "If she gets going, Deepika churns out perfect 10s at ease.

But at the same time, she suffers from inconsistency and makes silly mistakes at crunch times. If she overcomes her mental blockade, there is no stopping her," India's high performance director Sanjeeva Singh said.

The women's team, on the other hand, will be low on experience barring Deepika. Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur, who have been Indian regulars in this Olympic cycle and won a World Cup Stage-4 bronze in 2023, are slated for their respective Games debut.

It's now-or-never for me, says Tarundeep Rai

Tarundeep Rai

It's a "now-or-never situation for me", says veteran Indian archer Tarundeep Rai as he seeks to win a maiden Olympic medal in his fourth appearance at the Games while also serving as the team's unofficial mentor in Paris. The 40-year-old Rai has won medals in every championships at the global and continental level, but not the Olympics. "It's emotional every day. It's the fourth time. It's a now-or-never situation for me, and that's what I tell my teammates too. Maybe someone playing his first or second Olympics should think like it's now or never. You have to put in an effort as if it's going to be your last," Rai told PTI.

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