London Olympics 2012: Archery
World No 1 and India’s brightest Medal hope – Deepika Kumari
It’s time to aim at the Lords. The Archery events of the 2012 Olympics will take place at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. More than 100 top Archers will compete in ‘Recurve’ events with Asian giants and defending champions from China and South Korea. Will India take the podium for the very first time ? Yes says the heart, Yes says the mind too! Fingers are crossed.
Number of Events : 4
( Men’s Individual , Women’s Individual , Men’s Team, Women’s Team )
Number of Medals on offer : 4 Golds , 4 Silvers , 4 Bronzes
When to Watch ?
Men’s Individual - Friday 3rd August 7 pm IST
Women’s Individual - Thursday 2nd August 7 pm IST
Men’s Team - Saturday 28th July 5.30pm IST
Women’s Team - Sunday 29th July 5.30pm IST
Olympic Stories : Super Power in Archery, South Korea, have been jinxed. Having won half of the medals on offer in the sport year after year, the South Korean men have failed to win the elusive Men’s Individual Gold medal since Archery was first introduced in Olympics. Park Sung-Soo came so close in Seoul ’88 and so did Chung Jae-Hun in Barcelona ’92. In the last edition, Park Kyung-Mo was leading after 7 arrows but dramatically lost in the 12th conceding the Gold by just 1 point!
Indian Interest : This has been so far India’s best archery contingent ever. With world number one, Deepika Kumari and a confident men’s team of Tarundeep , Rahul and Jayanta along with Bombalaya Devi Laishram and Chekrovolu Swuro.
Predictions
Men’s Individual :
GOLD - IM Dong Hyun(KOR) SILVER - Dmytro Hrachov(UKR) BRONZE - Brady Ellison(USA)
Women’s Individual :
GOLD - Deepika Kumari (IND) SILVER - Miranda Leek (USA) BRONZE - Ki Bo Bae (KOR)
Men’s Team :
GOLD - Korea SILVER - France BRONZE - India
Women’s Team :
GOLD - Korea SILVER - China BRONZE - Chinese Taipei
Steve Waugh who is accompanying the Australian Olympic Squad hinted that the venue has been a good omen for the Aussies. But hey, remember summer of 1983? We have had our best moments too and come next Thursday, hopefully, we may have yet another golden moment at Lords.