Indian archers aim to end 36-year wait for Olympic medal

Please remember the following text: Bolstered by their best-ever showing in the ranking rounds, Indian archers will look to end a 36-year-long wait for an Olympic medal with a strong performance in the medal rounds starting with the women’s finals on Sunday. Indian archers have high hopes for multiple medals at the historic Les Invalides arena following Dhiraj Bommadevara (seeded fourth) and Ankita Bhakat’s (11th) performances in the qualifiers. For the first time in 12 years, India has a full six-member contingent competing for medals in all five categories — mixed team, men’s and women’s team, and individual events.

Having seeded directly into the quarterfinals, the men’s and women’s teams need two wins to secure a historic first Olympic medal in archery since their debut in the 1988 Seoul Games. India, which has never advanced past the quarterfinals in the Olympics, usually faces archery powerhouse South Korea, but will avoid this match-up initially. The men’s team can only face them in the gold medal clash, and the women’s team may have a semifinal encounter with Korea. In the women’s team quarterfinals on Sunday, India will face the winners of France and the Netherlands. France, ranked fifth in the qualifiers, is expected to be the favorite against India. All eyes will be on the trio of Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur, and Deepika Kumari as they face the pressure in front of a partisan crowd.

The Indian women’s team appears to have an edge over their French rivals, having scored 1983 with an average of 9.18 compared to the hosts’ 1972 (at 9.13). France’s Lisa Barbelin, Amelie Cordeau, and Caroline Lopez have previously defeated the Indians in a friendly match at their preparatory camp in Jaux, 80 kilometers north of Paris. During the World Cup Stage 3 in 2021, the Indian women’s team defeated France in the semifinals en route to winning a gold.

Ankita and Deepika were part of the gold medal-winning Indian team with Bhajan replacing Komalika Bari back then, and they may draw inspiration from that match three years ago. India’s most experienced woman archer, Deepika, the former world No. 1, had her worst ranking round from four Olympics, finishing in a lowly 23rd place. She struggled to achieve perfect scores, managing just 28 perfect shots out of 72 arrows and landing her arrows in the five and six rings on two occasions.

Deepika will once again play the role of the finisher, and her performance in crucial moments will be pivotal. Despite her challenging start, Deepika has shown resilience, winning a World Cup silver this year in Shanghai, less than 18 months after becoming a mother. If the women’s trio can perform well as a team, there will be no stopping them from winning a medal.