London Olympics: 17 days to go; Quiver full of hope

The Indian archers have managed to fill all six quotas in the Olympics for only the second time after 2004. With their form over the last two years, they promise a lot as they are labelled as the strongest Indian archery team ever fielded at the Games, says Tushar Dutt

It doesn’t happen very often that six Indian archers qualify for the Olympic Games and suddenly a billion pairs of eyes are on them. It happened once in 2004, but then there was no world No 1 in the contingent. As the Indian archers prepare religiously for the London Games, they have world’s top ranked archer in Deepika Kumari.

The Indians were never really medal contenders in archery in the past, though Limba Ram narrowly missed bronze at the Barcelona Games 20 years ago. One cannot ignore Indian archery team in this year’s quadrennial event as it is not only highly talented but also in top form, which could not have come at a better time.

The Indian women’s team comprises Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Chekrovolu Swuro while the men’s side is made up of Jayanta Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee. Apart from competing in the team events, these archers will also fight for medals in the individual categories.

Among the current team, Rai had also participated in the 2004 edition, but when compared to this team with the one sent to Athens, even he would agree that the London-bound teams are more balanced and likely to finish at the podium.

The 2004 edition also saw the archers win all the six quotas. The men’s team was represented by Rai, Satyadev Prasad and Majhi Sawaiyan, and finished 11th. The women’s team of Dola Banerjee, Reena Kumari and Sumangala Sharma did better, finishing eighth.
This team of 2012 is better than those in the previous editions but the obvious question is: What makes this side better?

“Their confidence in their preparation and hard work of three years makes this side better,” coach Limba Ram says. “There has been no doubt that this will be India’s best bet at the Olympic Games. The team in 2004 was also good, but I don’t know how they trained before the Athens Games and what went wrong. Now, I have been with the team since the last four years, so I know how well this team is prepared.”

Apart from being high on confidence, the archers are also controlling their form, which is very crucial at this level of competition. “The men’s team picked up form at the right time when they booked their Olympic berth in Ogden, recently. But even then we are controlling their form. If we let them just practice as of now and not gain their top form, it will help them do well at the Games. They are doing just fine at the moment,” Ram asserts.
When asked about the chances of getting medals in the Games, Ram says India will bag at least two medals. “We are expecting one medal from Deepika as she is in a really good form. Another medal is expected from the teams, but which one, we will have to wait and watch.”

The weather in London will also play a crucial role in bringing the results. During the events, it will be cold, windy and may also rain. But the coach is confident that the Indians will not have any problem in adapting to the conditions.

“We will be leaving for the Games 10 days in advance so that the archers get enough time to get used to the cold weather. As far as the wind is concerned, it will be equally tricky for all the archers and not just for us. Those who judge the windy conditions well will have the upper hand,” he explains.

Looking at their performances in the last two years, both the men’s and women’s teams look promising. They have humbled strong opponents like Korea to win titles in the past. Whether they will be able to perform on the given day will be answered only when the first arrow is shot.