3 players who can win a medal for India in archery at Paris 2024 Olympics
With less than five days to go for the Paris Olympics 2024, excitement is building up as the Indian contingent gears up for the grand event. The final makeup of the archery team that will represent India includes Deepika Kumari, Tarundeep Rai, Pravin Jadhav, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Bhajan Kaur, and Ankita Bhakat. This team will bring diversity into the contingent and make it rich in experience.
On that note, let us check three archers who can win a medal for India in archery at Paris 2024 Olympics.
Deepika Kumari
Deepika Kumari happens to be one of the most talked-about archers to have represented India ever since her international debut. It was bagging the junior compound competition at the 2006 Archery World Cup in Mérida, Mexico, that brought her into the limelight.
Deepika's sterling show at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, where she captured two gold medals, established her firmly as a top contender.
She did not get defeated even when things went downhill for her at the 2012 London Olympics. Having notched up several medals at all World Cup stages, Deepika turned herself into the world number one in Women's Recurve Archery in 2012 and forged ahead.
Equipped with years of experience and never-tiring focus, Deepika Kumari is one of the strong medal contenders at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Dhiraj Bommadevara
Dhiraj Bommadevara's rise in the Indian archery graph has been meteoric. Just a year after getting selected into the national team for the 2023 Asian Games at Hangzhou in China, where he sealed a silver medal in the men's recurve team event, Dhiraj has confirmed his class at the highest level. His performance at the 2023 World Championships in Berlin, Germany, further underlined his potential.
Dhiraj continued to succeed in World Cup stages of Antalya, Paris and Medellin, scooping up silver and bronze medals. His standout performance was earlier this year in Shanghai, where he won a men's team gold.
Notably, Dhiraj has won against Tokyo Olympian Tarundeep Rai in Hyderabad's Ranking tournament in January 2022.
Equipped with growing experiences and recent successes, Dhiraj Bommadevara is truly the kind of grit needed to make a big statement at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Tarundeep Rai
Tarundeep Rai comes in with loads of experience behind him in the Indian archery team. Debuting into the international circuit in 2003, Rai has never looked back and has turned up consistently to show for India at various major events, including three previous Olympics.
His career is highlighted by winning India's first-ever individual silver medal in the 16th Asian Games at Guangzhou, China, in the year 2010, and being part of the Indian team that won a bronze medal at the 15th Asian Games in Doha in 2006.
His gold medal wins include the 2024 World Cup in Shanghai (Men's Team), the 2022 World Cup in Antalya (Mixed Team), and the 2010 World Cup in Shanghai (Men's Team). He also won gold at the 2024 Asia Cup in Baghdad (Men's Team) and the South Asian Federation Games in 2016 Shillong (Men's Team, Mixed Team, and Individual), 2010 Dhaka (Individual), and 2006 Colombo (Men's Team).