Paris Olympics: Deepika Kumari and Indian Archers Opt for Cautious Optimism With Maiden Medal in Sight

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Last Friday India's archery contingent comprising six archers and two coaches checked in at the Paris Olympics Games Village having completed a 10-day training and acclimatisation camp in Compiègne, around 80 km north of Paris.

It has been a well-planned build-up to the quadrennial extravaganza with encouraging performances throughout the current year leading up to the Olympics. An Olympic medal has eluded the country so far but for the first time in 12 years, India will be competing in both the team events after securing the quota based on the final world rankings updated in June.

However recent controversies seem to have marred the mood inside the camp. South Korean coach Baek Woong Ki was denied accreditation and had to travel back to India and has since blasted the Archery Association of India while the federation has blamed the Indian Olympic Association for their inability to arrange one more support staff to accompany the team.

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The archers have not spoken out, choosing to focus on the job at hand with a source close to the team claiming that they are happy with the coaches who have travelled with them.

However, there is pressure, make no mistake about it. The contingent has the perfect mixture of youth and experience and recent World Cup medals have ramped up expectations. Tarundeep Rai, all of 40, is set to take part in his fourth Olympics. His goal is to retire on a high -- claim an Olympic medal before bringing down the curtains on a long and storied career.

He is currently acting as the unofficial mentor for a young group of extremely talented archers, Pravin Jadhav and Dhiraj Bommadevara. While speaking to myKhel, Tarundeep revealed his main mantra for success.

"Focus on the job at hand and not the goal. That's the best way to avoid the pitfalls that normally come with the added pressure of trying to win a medal," said the veteran archer.

The other male archers, Both Jadhav and Dhiraj, Services teammates of Rai, have impressed in recent times, especially, Dhiraj. The 22-year-old armyman is the lone individual men's medallist this year, winning bronze in Antalya in the World Cup Stage III. He also did the same thing last year as well. But there is a growing sense of maturity in the archers as they realise that individual events, owing to the competition and number of matches, might prove too daunting.

Medal Chance in Team Events

The real chance is in the team events where 12 countries compete. And after a gap of 12 years, the Indian team has the chance to do the unthinkable. They have done so already at the start of the year when they claimed the men's team gold at the Archery World Cup Stage I.

Among the women, Deepika Kumari, the most experienced of the women trio, is on quite the comeback trail. Having to compete while remaining apart from 19-month-old daughter Vedika is an equally daunting task as winning her first Olympic medal. She is experienced enough to understand that unnecessary pressure from back home does not help and that's what she wants to avoid heading into her fourth successive Olympics.

And her role is not only to stay focussed but to help her younger compatriots handle the pressure that comes with stepping into the field with the whole nation waiting with bated breath. Paris has been lucky for her in the past, winning a World Cup silver as recently as last year while this year, she won a silver at the Shanghai World Cup, her first podium finish in two years.

Her other teammates, Bhajan Kaur and Ankita Bhakat, have won medals this year in the mixed team events, another event where India has a great chance. For everything to fall in place, the archers need to put their best foot forward during the individual ranking round, which will take place on July 25 at the famed Esplanade des Invalides.

The individual rankings will determine team and mixed team seeds as well as the composition of the mixed team with the top archers likely to be paired up unless AAI decides to intervene. There had been controversy back in Tokyo regarding the same and in a bid to avoid the same, all six archers were paired up with each other and made to train together so that everyone was comfortable with the other.

A lot of focus was put on mental fortitude this time as well considering Indian archery's poor record under pressure. During training in Pune and Sonipat, artificial crowd noises were introduced while all-weather training was conducted so that the archers are ready for all kinds of climates.

South Korea, a formidable rival and world beater

In terms of opposition, South Korea are expected to be India's biggest obstacle having topped every Olympic archery medal tally since 1988. The recurve men's line-up includes Kim Woojin, Kim Je Deok, and Lee Wooseok with the trio losing out to India in Shanghai. But the real shock is the women's team which includes Lim Sihyeon, last year's breakout star, to lead rookies Jeon Hunyoung and Nam Suhyeon.

However, one cannot take them lightly as their selection process is so methodical and meritocratic that the trio will still be considered favourites. Their selection process went on for months which included selection competitions, resident training, and two final trials in April. Apart from Korea, China, France, and Germany will also be ready to take advantage in case of any slip-ups from the favourites.

Can India keep their composure when it matters?

On paper, their preparations were as good as they could get and multiple medals also arrived in the build-up. But often in the past, Indian archers have let themselves down by focusing too much on one single opposition or by allowing the Olympic pressure to get to them. The best example came in the recent final world Olympic archery qualifier in Turkiye when India lost out to Mexico.

If they shoot well from the start and focus on getting their form right instead of focusing on the outside hype, maybe, just maybe Team India can script history in France. For now, the archers are going ahead with cautious optimism and hoping for the best.