India's Olympic archers focus on 'team bonding'

The focus was on "team bonding" for the Indian archery team on Friday following their inspiring show in the qualification round of the Paris Games that has raised hopes of a maiden Olympic medal after a 36-year wait.

An archery medal has eluded India after its debut in the sport in the 1988 Seoul Games and the team has not been able to cross the quarterfinal hurdle since then.

The third and fourth place finishes for the men's and women's teams respectively in the qualification round on Thursday have ensured that they are seeded straight to the quarterfinals and they just need two wins to create history.

The men's team will face the winner of the match between sixth seed Turkey and 11th seed Colombia, with the former holding a definite edge, boasting of reigning Olympic and world champion Mete Gazoz in their ranks.

The Indian men's team has two more training sessions before the elimination round on Monday and the team strategy was on overcoming potential challengers Turkey.

"Turkey are a strong side as they have Gazoz. But our strength has been team bonding and we are just focussed on the process and how to shoot well," Indian men's team coach Sonam Tshering Bhutia told PTI after the day's practice here.

The Indian men's team has seasoned Army man Tarundeep Rai who is appearing in his fourth Olympics, having made his Games debut in Athens 2004. The other members of the team are Tokyo Olympian Pravin Jadhav and the rising star Dhiraj who has last month beaten Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Mauro Nespoli for the Antalya World Cup bronze.

"The best thing (for the men's team) is our team bonding. All three are from the Army Sports Institute Pune. They have been together, be it while eating, staying or training since 2021. "This long-term training and team bonding will play a big role. They know each other's body language and shooting style," the coach said.

"Tarun keeps motivating them with his huge experience. Pravin is also here for the second time. They have a lot of experience." he concluded.