Paris Olympics: Indian Archery Team Likely To Be Without Their Psychologist in the Medal Rounds; Yet to Get Visa Clearance

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India's archers produced a thrilling display during the opening day of the Paris Olympics with both the men's and women's teams recording the country's best show in Olympic history. However, if not for off-field issues, things could have been even better.

Ankita Bhakat top scored among the women, finishing 11th while Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari finished 22nd and 23rd with the team totaling 1983 points, their best-ever at the Games. As a result, they finished fourth as a team and ensured a direct entry into the quarterfinals. However, they could potentially face heavyweights South Korea in the semifinals.

Deepika, the most experienced of the trio, started poorly while Bhakat ended on a sombre note. Post the conclusion of the qualifying rounds, there were frantic calls made to Gayatri Madkekar, the archery contingent's mental trainer who is yet to reach Paris, as myKhel reported earlier. Turns out, now there is a real danger that she might not even make it in time for the final rounds on Sunday.

"Her presence would have been a big help," is how a source close to the players put it. Visa issues which arose due to a problem accessing her biometric data have prevented Madkekar from travelling to Paris with the Sports Ministry assuring the psychologist that the process would be cleared by Friday. Despite The Archery Association of India's (AAI) best efforts, no update has been received from the French Embassy as of yet.

Coaches Sonam Singh Bhutia and Purnima Mahato have been speaking to players in Madkekar's absence and trying their best to understand what is going through the archers' minds and trying to calm the nerves as best as possible. Not the ideal scenario heading into the crucial medal rounds.

Lack of a third coach hampered the men

The men's team produced a top-notch display as they finished third with a tally of 2013 points aided by Dhiraj Bommadevara's thrilling second-half comeback which saw him finish fourth among individual archers. This means the team will not be facing South Korea until the finals.

Tarundeep Rai finished 14th while Pravin Jadhav had an off day, finishing with a score of 658, in 39th position. Dhiraj and Tarundeep had Sonam and Purnima in their corners but due to the absence of a third coach in the form of Baek Woong Ki, the archer from Maharashtra struggled to compose himself under pressure.

This was why AAI tried to include Baek in the contingent as three archers need one coach each as they all shoot in different areas of the field. It is difficult for two coaches to guide all three at the same time.

"Baek's involvement would have helped Pravin as he was without help during the crucial stage of the qualifying round. This was communicated to IOA during discussions but to no avail," a top official told Mykhel. The livid South Korean coach, who is currently back in India, is expected to stand down following the conclusion of the Olympic Games.

Hopefully, with the help of the coaches and if the mental trainer arrives in time, Pravin can get his act together on Monday when the team medal rounds for men will take place. All three archers will need to be on the top of their game if a medal has to be won.