Despite all efforts — and a lot of that has been put in over many years — this is one discipline where Indians continue to shoot blanks. They go to the Olympics promising a lot and come back with nothing. Some of them are appreciably high in the world rankings, but when it comes to performing on the biggest stage, they fizzle out with unerring regularity.
Archery has been a priority sport for the Indian Olympic mission for many years now. Huge amounts of money have been spent in hiring foreign coaches, training, exposure trips and all that is required to make a mark at the top level. In terms of providing the right ecosystem, few stones have been left unturned. Yet, when it comes to the crunch, the result is invariably zero.
One can say that in Paris 2024, the mixed team of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat made history by becoming the first-ever from the country to reach the semi-finals. They did well to finish fourth. It was undoubtedly a creditable effort. But is that a silver lining or hoping against hope that this will script a turnaround?
Similar hopes had been placed on Indians in many editions of the Olympic Games. They do well in the World Cups and ranking events. That creates an illusion of their true ability. World Cups in archery are not the equivalent of World Cups in football or hockey. Usually, the international calendar of archery has four World Cups. Top countries don’t send their best to each and every edition. The winners of these World Cups are not necessarily the best in the world.
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Compare archery with India’s other priority disciplines. Shooting, wrestling, boxing, badminton and athletics have fetched Olympic medals with differing degrees of regularity. Alongside disappointments, there are many positives as well. Archery is the only exception. After receiving almost the same kind of support, it’s the only discipline which has not delivered.
Mentioning names is futile because it’s been the same ever since Limba Ram burst onto the scene in the 1990s by equalling a world record. Hope, that perennial accomplice of Indian archery, started soaring back then. Limba went to three Olympic Games, and did nothing. This was followed by a few generations who also raised hope. But be it Sanjeev Singh, Tarundeep Rai, Dola and Rahul Banerjee, Jayanta Talukdar, Atanu Das or Deepika Kumari — all fired blanks.
In fact, it’s the relatively inexperienced lot of Bombadevara, Ankita and Bhajan Kaur which did better than the well-known ones in Paris. Deepika has always disappointed on the biggest stage. To see Tarundeep back in the mix — he first went to the Olympics in 2004 — suggested that there is a dearth of talent in India in spite of all the scouting.
The administration has also not covered itself in glory. Despite hiring a high-profile coach in South Korean Woong Ki, the management somewhat bizarrely did not make sure that he was there in Paris with the archers in the position he should have been. When things got close during competitions, Indians shot sixes and sevens, while their opponents dealt in nines and tens. The presence of a coach who had guided South Korea to gold medals in 2012 was sorely missed.
At the moment, archery probably doesn’t deserve to be categorised as a priority discipline, if the Olympics is the target. It’s okay if Indians are satisfied with medals from the Asian and Commonwealth Games. If the bar has to be set higher, a new roadmap is required.
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