National archery camp to resume on August 25 at ASI, Pune: SAI

New Delhi, Aug 13: The national archery camp for Olympic hopefuls will resume at the Army Sports Institute in Pune on August 25, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said on Thursday.

The camp was called off midway in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 16 recurve archers -- eight men and as many women, along with four coaches and two support staff will report for the camp on August 25 and undergo the mandatory 14-day period inside the ASI campus before starting their training sessions.

"In view of the ensuing 2021 Olympics, the Sports Authority of India has sanctioned the National Archery Camp for Olympic-bound athletes from August 25, 2020 at the Army Sports Institute in Pune," the SAI said in a statement.

While the men's team has earned an Olympic quota, the women's team is yet to claim one. The players will strive to seal their Tokyo tickets at the Olympic qualification event in Paris next year.

"The athletes, coaches and support staff will be given the COVID test, which has been made mandatory by SAI for all athletes arriving at National Camps in SAI facilities across the country."

All the top recurve archers of the country, including Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, B Dhiraj, Pravin Jadhav, Jayanta Talukdar, Sukhmanu Babrekar, Kapil, Vishwas, Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, L Bombayla Devi, Ridhi, Madhu Vedwan, Himani, Pramila Baria and Tisha Sancheti have been called for the camp.

The archers will have to follow the guidelines of the Health Ministry as well as the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) released by SAI during the camp.