India at Tokyo Olympics 2020: Can India win its first-ever medal in Archery?
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Indian archers at the Tokyo Olympics
With India sending its biggest contingent this year to the Tokyo Olympics, the hopes of winning medals is high. Athletes like Bajrang Punia, Mary Kom, Vinesh Phogat and others will be carrying India’s hopes on their shoulders. In this mix is a group of Indian Archers, who have stunned the world with their consistent and successful performance in the recent years.
The analytical company Gracenote, predicts that India will win a total of 17 medals, out of which the most will be for shooting, while archery will win 1 medal. The talented and hardworking Indian Archery team will definitely be looking to make their mark during the Tokyo Olympics.
Which Indian Archers have Qualified for the Tokyo Olympics?
The men’s archery team will be led by Atanu Das. Along with him, Pravin Jadhav and Tarundeep Rai will round off the team. Dhiraj Bommadevara will be the reserve for the men’s team.
Deepika Kumari is the only woman to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This will be her third Olympics after the 2012 Olympics and the 2016 Olympics.
Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das are also looking strong as they hope to win a medal in the mixed team event at the Tokyo Olympics this year.
Current world ranking of these archers:
| Athletes | Rank |
| Atanu Das | 17 |
| Pravin Jadhav | 57 |
| Tarundeep Rai | 31 |
| Dhiraj Bommadevara (reserve) | 183 |
| Deepika Kumari | 9 |
Indian Men’s Archery – Team Medal for India After Promising World Championship Performance?
The Indian Men’s team is a strong contender for a team medal. The Indian Recurve Team Archery team was selected after the trials at the Army Sports Institute in Pune.
Pravin Jadhav (8) topped the trials, with Atanu Das (7.5) coming in second and Tarundeep Rai (6) coming in third. Rai was in a tie with the reserve Dhiraj Bommadevara, after which Rai edged him out by one point to secure the third spot on the team.
The Indian Men’s recurve team was at a World Championship after a drought of 14 years. It was also the first time the Indian men’s team made the final of a world event in 5 years. World no. 11 secured their spot at the Olympics at the 2019 World Archery Championships in the Netherlands, after winning the match against world no. 6, Canada 5-3. They finally ended up winning the silver medal, with China beating the Indians 6-2 and South Korea taking the Bronze medal.
Indian Men’s Archery- Atanu Das Looking Strong as all 3 men Qualify for the Individual Matches
The Individual medals in the Olympics are up for grabs as well, with all 3 men securing a spot in individual recurve matches:
Atanu Das
Atanu Das made his debut in 2008 and since then has risen the ranks to now settle on a world no. 17. He won a Bronze medal with Deepika Kumari at the 2013 World Cup in Columbia. He recently won 3 bronze medals in the 2019 Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok, in the individual, team as well as mixed team event.
His latest achievement is a gold medal in the 2021 Guatemala City World Cup, as well as a bronze in the mixed team event. His current form and experience make him a favourite to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Pravin Jadhav
Pravin Jadhav competes in the recurve discipline in men’s archery. He was a part of the Indian team along with Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai which participated in the 2019 Archery World Championships. The team took home a silver medal at the Championships. The world no. 57 is looking strong, as he hopes to bag a medal in the team event this year at the Olympics.
Tarundeep Rai
Tarundeep Rai made his debut in 2003 at the age of 19. He won a silver medal along with his team at the 2019 Archery world Championships.
Rai was a part of the 2012 archery team which went to the Olympics. He places 31st in the Men’s individual ranking and 12th in the team ranking. The 2 times Olympian is hoping to finally bag a medal with his team at the Tokyo Olympics, after a strong and consistent performance.
Indian Women’s Archery- Deepika Kumari, India’s Only Hope in Women’s Archery
Deepika Kumari Won 9 points at the trials to secure her spot at the Olympics this year. Even though the women’s team was disappointing, the 2 times Olympian is hoping this will be the year she bags an individual Olympic medal.
The current world no. 9 and the former world No 1. finished 8th in the women’s team event in the 2012 London Olympics and 7th at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Since then, her performance has been stellar as she went on to win the individual gold in the 2018 Archery World Cup. She recently also won 2 gold medals at the 2021 World Cup, one in the women’s team event and the other in the women’s individual event.
She is looking strong and is India’s hope of winning an Olympic medal in archery this year.
Mixed Team- the Highest hopes of winning a Medal at the Tokyo Olympics
The Indian Mixed team is looking the strongest, with two of India’s best archers, Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das joining forces.
The duo won a bronze medal a the 2019 Bangkok Asian Championships. They have also won a silver medal at the 2016 Archery World Cup in Antalya. With the duo at their peak currently, they are strong contenders at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian Archery Contingent is a strong one, and if they perform to their complete potential they are certainly capable of winning the first ever archery medal for India at the Olympics this year.
Also read: Tokyo Olympics: Indian men’s hockey team named for Summer Games
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Saivee Phatak
(1164 Articles Published)