Ready to shoot: The Indian archery squad on its arrival in Paris for the Games.
| Photo Credit: X@WeAreTeamIndia
A well-planned and smooth build-up seems to have hit a roadblock for the Indian archery team with foreign coach Baek Woong Ki not getting accreditation to guide the team at the Paris Olympics.
India, which has never been able to win an Olympic medal in archery, booked men and women quota places after 12 years through the World rankings and is keen to open the account.
As the Archery Association of India (AAI) and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) are engaged in a blame game over Baek not getting an accreditation, the absence of the expert Korean coach could deny the Indians crucial inputs during crunch situations.
Fourth Olympics
The archers, including seasoned Tarundeep Rai and Deepika Kumari who will compete in their fourth Olympics, have put in a lot of hard work, going through multi-phase selection trials and several competitions.
They claimed team medals in the Asian Games last year and medalled in two of the three World Cups this year. The men’s team, comprising B. Dhiraj, Tarundeep and Pravin Jadhav, beating World champion Korea in the final to take the World Cup Stage-1 in Shanghai was a morale-boosting moment.
Deepika’s silver in Shanghai and Dhiraj winning two medals, including an individual bronze beating Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mauro Nespoli and a mixed team bronze with Bhajan Kaur, in the World Cup Stage-3 in Antalya in June were exciting results.
The women’s team and individually Ankita Bhakat’s fourth place finishes in Antalya also brought positivity.
The archers understand that controlling the mind will be crucial. However, the unavailability of psychologist Gayatri Madkekar due to visa issues has come as another jolt in the final phase of their preparations.
India eyes medals in team events as the men and women competitions will feature 12 countries and the mixed team event will have 16 sides.
Paris is a ‘lucky’ city for the Indians as they have landed medals in each World Cup Stage held there in the last three years. Conditions in the French capital are expected to suit them.
It remains to be seen whether they overcome the odds to make their outing memorable.
The squad
Men: B. Dhiraj, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Jadhav. Women: Bhajan Kaur, Deepika Kumari, and Ankita Bhakat.
