India secures men’s and women’s team quota in archery for Paris Olympics 2024
The World Archery rankings were updated on Monday, June 24 and with that, there's good news for Indian archery fans. Based on the rankings, India has secured men's and women's quotas in the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. Notably, India, which is one of the non-qualified nations, topped the rankings in both men's and women's sections.
With this, India is now eligible to field athletes across all five events - men's, women's and mixed teams, as well as individual. Speaking overall, in the men's section it was India and China who gained the qualification. Meanwhile in the women's section, it was Indonesia who finished second to India to achieve their qualification.
Speaking about the Indian athletes, 40-year-old Tarundeep Rai, who debuted in Athens back in 2004, will mark his fourth Olympics appearance this time out. In the women's category, Deepika Kumari, who made her debut in the London Olympics in 2012, will make her fourth successive Olympics appearance in Paris next month.
Pravin Jadhav will be participating in his second Summer Games, with his first coming in 2021 in Tokyo. Apart from the aforementioned names, there will be three debutants - Dhiraj Bommadevara, Bhajan Kaur and Ankita Bhakat.
Indian archery team at Paris Olympics 2024
Men's: Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Pravin Jadhav
Women's: Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur, Ankita Bhakat
Qualification process for Paris Olympics 2024
The Paris Olympics will witness 12 sides in the team events, while five will take part in the mixed events. This was also the first time where team quotas were offered to the top two nations, depending on the outcome of the three-legged Olympic qualifiers.
The first qualifier took place in Berlin, notably in the World Archery Championships last year. This competition saw Japan, Turkey and South Korea secure their berths in the men's category. On the other hand, the women's category saw Germany and Mexico make the cut.
The second qualifier took place as a continental one where South Korea and Kazakhstan secured their men's and women's quotas from Asia, meanwhile USA and Colombia gained qualification from Pan America. From Europe, it was Italy who grabbed the men's quota and Netherlands who secured the women's one.
The third and the final qualifier concluded in Antalya last week. While Great Britain, Chinese Taipei and Mexico etched their names in the men's category, the women's category witnessed China, Malaysia, Great Britain, and Chinese Taipei secure their spots.