The Paris Olympic Games will take place between July 26th to August 11th. A total of 112 athletes will represent India in 16 sports. India won a total of 7 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze) in the previous edition and is aiming to improve their tally this time. We will be analyzing India’s chances across different sports. In this part, we will focus on Shooting and Archery.
Before analyzing our chances, it is important to clarify some misconceptions surrounding these two sports. Over the past few years, athletes from Shooting and Archery have gained attention due to their rankings and World Cup medals. However, unlike other sports, World Cups in these two disciplines are not considered the ultimate achievement, and rankings can often be misleading.
Both Archery and Shooting host several World Cups every year, and the lack of participation by top athletes sometimes results in reduced competition. Due to the absence of top players in multiple events, the rankings can often be misleading, much like T20 International rankings in cricket. The World Championships, held once or twice within every Olympic cycle of 4 years, are considered the pinnacle of both these sports. With that in mind, let’s take a look at India’s prospects in each discipline:
Shooting:
Shooting has yielded four medals for India in the past. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore secured a silver in 2004, while Abhinav Bindra won gold in 2008. In 2012, Vijay Kumar got a silver, and Gagan Narang earned a bronze. However, in the subsequent two editions, India came away empty-handed. Expectations were relatively low for the shooters at the Rio Olympics, but many experts predicted a strong performance by Indian shooters at the Tokyo Games. Unfortunately, a disaster followed. India’s shooting contingent will seek to make a strong comeback and demonstrate their prowess during the Paris Olympic Games.
Indian shooters have primarily won gold medals in team events at the World Championships and Asian Games, indicating that the nation possesses several skilled shooters, albeit fewer standout talents. A positive aspect is that depth is present. India has secured a record-breaking total of 22 quotas, tied for second place with the USA. China, as expected, has won the most quotas with 23. Russian athletes, one of the most successful shooting teams, are banned, which increases the likelihood of Indian shooters advancing further.
Shooting is an unpredictable sport. A talented shooter can experience a terrible performance, but winning a medal requires consistent excellence. 22-year-old Sift Kaur Samra has excelled in recent times, winning the Asian Games gold and also setting a World Record last year. Rudrankksh Patil, the 2022 World Championship gold medallist, missed out on a spot after losing a trial to an unforeseen competitor, Sandeep Singh.
Anish Bhanwala, once hailed as a prodigy, but who later experienced a temporary decline, has been showing signs of improvement in recent times. The 21-year-old won gold in the Rapid Fire Cup earlier this month, a competition that included numerous Olympic and World Championships medalists. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Manu Bhaker are among the most consistent shooters, but they have yet to distinguish themselves in major tournaments. However, both of them did win gold at the Summer World University Games in 2023. With both athletes still in their early 20s, we should hope they will bring their A-game to the biggest stage at the Paris Olympics. Indian shooters also have a strong chance of success in mixed team events, with 2 quotas won in both Rifle and Pistol categories.
The conclusion is that Indian shooters should open their tally at the Paris Olympics and should aim to win more than one medal this time. If they fail to achieve this, they will need to be held accountable for their performance.
Squad:
Rifle:
Men’s 10m air rifle: Sandeep Singh, Arjun Babuta
Women’s 10m air rifle: Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita Jindal
Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions: Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil
Men’s 50m rifle 3 positions: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale
10m air rifle mixed team: Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan, Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal
Pistol
Men’s 10m air pistol: Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema
Women’s 10m air pistol: Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan
Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol: Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu
Women’s 25m pistol: Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh
10m air pistol mixed team: Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker, Arjun Singh Cheema/Rhythm Sangwan
Men’s trap: Prithviraj Tondaiman
Women’s trap: Maheshwari Chauhan, Shreyasi Singh
Men’s skeet: Anantjeet Singh Naruka
Women’s skeet: Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza Dhillon
Skeet mixed team: Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Maheshwari Chauhan
Archery:
India secured the top spot in the 2023 Archery World Championships medal tally with 3 golds and 1 silver. However, all these medals were achieved in Compound Archery, which is not an Olympic category. India has consistently dominated global competitions in Compound Archery. Whereas in Recurve Archery, despite showing potential, India has yet to shine in the Olympics. The Recurve Archers are yet to win a medal for India in the Olympics.
Although the Recurve Archers have demonstrated inconsistency, they have had some remarkable moments as well. At the Asian Games, the Indian Men’s team clinched a silver, while the Women’s team secured a bronze. The Asian region is the toughest archery landscapes. More recently at the Shanghai World Cup earlier this year, the Men’s team pulled off a surprise victory over powerhouse South Korea, winning the gold.
The most consistent Archer India possesses is Dhiraj Bommadevara. The 22-year-old has secured 1 gold, 1 silver, and 6 bronze medals across various World Cup events held in 2023 and 2024. Some of these medals have been earned in fully competitive fields. For women archers, the most prominent figure is Deepika Kumari, who will be taking part in her 4th Olympics. At 30 years old, she is the most decorated Indian recurve Archer. However, she has yet to deliver at the Olympics. Hopefully, she will be able to maintain her composure during this quadrennial event.
India’s best prospects for winning a medal lie in the team events, particularly in the Men’s team categories. The ranking rounds are scheduled for July 25, the day before the opening ceremony, and will determine the athletes’ rankings, which will in turn decide the matchups for the subsequent matchplay rounds. To avoid facing South Korea, the Indian teams should aim to avoid rankings of 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, or 12th (and 16th in the mixed team events). South Korea, who often dominate the standings in the ranking round, can be defeated, as the Indian Men’s team demonstrated in the Shanghai World Cup earlier this year. However, avoiding them would undoubtedly improve our situation. One of India’s primary concerns in the Men’s team event is Pravin Jadhav, who has not been in top form in recent tournaments. He will need to step up his game.
In individual events, the chances of a medal aren’t particularly high, but it wouldn’t be surprising if one of our archers makes it onto the podium. As an unpredictable sport, any archer who has a great day could achieve success.
Squad:
Men’s Recurve (Team & Individual):
Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, Pravin Jadhav.
Women’s Recurve (Team & Individual):
Bhajan Kaur, Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat.
*Top Men’s archers and top women’s archer will also participate in the Mixed team event if they finish in top 16 in the ranking round.