Olympics Frame

After an underwhelming performance at Rio, India will be eager to erase their failure in Tokyo. Deepika and Atanu Das have been on an incredible streak and can continue their winning ways and do wonders if they maintain momentum.

The duo soared into the quarter-finals by beating Luxembourg in their opening match. Unfortunately, however, they blew a 4-1 lead against Mexico during a shoot-off and fell to defeat.

Olympics Frame | Qualification

Indian archers have not won a medal at an Olympic games since debuting at Seoul 1988 and their latest debacle at Stage 3 World Cup in Antalya, Turkey has left them struggling to qualify for June’s showpiece event. Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav’s men’s recurve team was eliminated in quarter-finals against Mexico while Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and debutant Laxmirani Majhi lost 5-4 to Ukraine

India was considered a favourite to claim Olympic spots at this tournament with two top seeds as leading candidates, yet their trio crumbled under pressure following an early exit. Their nervous performance stood in stark contrast to how confidently they defeated Koreans for Shanghai World Cup gold earlier this year.

But the unsatisfying results have forced India back to square one, competing for team spots through rankings in their next qualifier event, beginning this Friday. India hopes that better fortune awaits them at this fourth and final qualifier event.

Paresh Nath Mukherjee, former chief of Archery Association of India, blamed their failure on complacency and a lack of hunger among archers. Mukherjee observed that many archers come from smaller towns; when they reach certain levels in archery they become complacent with what they’ve achieved and lose focus on reaching Olympic-level competitions as their ultimate goal.Olympics Frame

Prior to the tournament, Bommadevara, Rai and Jadhav had all won individual qualifications rounds without issue; however, under pressure from home crowd pressure they struggled for consistency as pressure from crowd rose quickly and became overwhelming. “Playing in front of our home fans is always difficult but we didn’t expect that it would be this difficult,” Bommadevara commented.Olympics Frame

Women’s team performed poorly, leading them to work even harder in future Qualifiers in order to increase their chances of making it to Paris Olympics. Stage 4 World Cup will take place from June 18-22 in Odense; two highest-ranked nations not directly qualifying will receive Olympic spots based on their ranking; this gives India’s women’s team an increased chance at landing an Olympic berth; men’s team will aim to remain amongst the top eight rankings rounds so as to qualify.

Olympics Frame | Quarter-Finals

Indian archers came into Tokyo riding high after winning several gold medals at World Cups over the last three years. Unfortunately, their expectations were dashed upon reaching Tokyo; their team archers were knocked out at quarter-final stage despite best Olympic performance ever. Ace compound shooter Rajat Chauhan made it all the way to semi-finals while women’s team archer Deepika Kumari and men’s individualist Atanu Das arrows went astray during 1/8 elimination round competition; all this can add immense pressure onto athletes competing on an arena that requires their complete concentration.Olympics Frame

Bhajan Kaur, however, managed to secure India its inaugural Olympic quota in women’s recurve individual competition at Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Seeded third and battling through several tough matches against Mobina Fallah of Iran before ultimately defeating her 6-2 in the final and winning the title – becoming India’s first quota holder ever.Olympics Frame

Archers who earned one of the top-24 rankings at the Final Olympic Qualifier tournament have qualified for elimination round competition, with top three finishers earning Paris Games quotas. Furthermore, these archers will receive priority entry into last-16.Olympics Frame

Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Pravin Jadhav still stand a chance of qualifying for the Olympic team through world rankings. India now awaits results of Antalya World Cup’s final stage from June 18-23 for two additional Olympic quotas which may come through team ranking rounds.

Archers displayed remarkable maturity throughout the competition, yet their minds weren’t at rest with the Olympic Games approaching. Rising star Dhiraj Bommadevara blamed himself for an unfortunate error during the first set of his quarter-final against Kazakh Ilfat Abdullin; 22-year-old Dhiraj had recently defeated double Olympic champion Kim Woojin but started off poorly by missing target twice in eight arrows – something Bommadevara couldn’t allow to happen during previous matches against Kazakhstani Ilfat Abdullin in recent events.

However, he managed to come back and win the next set to even the scores at 4-4 and pursued the tiebreaker; unfortunately, however, his arrows again misfired by landing below the center of his target board and misfiring.

India’s recurve team once again succumbed at the quarterfinal stage this year. Comprised of Bhajan, Deepika and Ankita – each dropped one point over two rounds – their hopes are now on Antalya where Olympic qualifying events will be announced June 24.

Olympics Frame | Semi-Finals

Indian archers made waves with two gold medal wins in Stage one of the World Cups – providing a much-needed morale boost ahead of Tokyo Olympic Games – yet not everyone agrees that Olympic medals provide an accurate measure of national self-worth, especially from sports with such limited television viewership.

Indian archery medalists had to settle for silver as their men’s team lost to Mexico in the quarter-final of Olympic Qualifier on Sunday. Only four teams could advance to semi-finals via rankings while fifth and eighth-placed qualifiers received byes into pre-quarters; thus leaving one qualifying spot up for grabs for either fourth-placed Korea (233 points each) or India with their gap between them of 84 points being eligible to qualify.

Dhiraj Bommadevara secured his individual quota through the Asian Continental Qualifier Tournament held last November; therefore the remaining three spots will now go to those archers with the highest world rankings at the end of June. India currently have six total quotas available across various events: two for men’s, four for women’s and two mixed team events.

After an unfortunate quarter-final hiccup, attention now turns to the final round of Olympic qualifiers in Shanghai on Monday and Tuesday. Men and women athletes alike will compete to secure top four finishes that guarantee them entry into semi-finals.Olympics Frame

Men aiming to beat Korea will need to obtain as close to 240 points as possible to ensure qualification for Paris showpiece, while in women’s category four medals will be distributed, with Korea and China guaranteed top spots.Olympics Frame

Olympics Frame

Indian women enjoy a slight advantage as the top two finishers will automatically qualify for Olympic qualification regardless of their world ranking, making it essential that Deepika Kumari and Laishram Bombayla Devi finish in the top three to qualify.

Early in the competition, India’s women’s team experienced an unexpected shock exit when two team members, including world No 2 Deepika Kumari, exited in the quarter-finals. Deepika had an ineffective shoot-off against Mexico as she failed to hit an X and an eight in the fourth set – losing 5-4 after a shoot-off. India’s Pravin Jadhav had similar results; though his shots weren’t consistently hitting an eight either during shootoff or fourth set play; Mexican arrows proved superior at finishing skills that ultimately decided India’s fate.