India will launch their campaign in archery at the 15th Asian Games in Doha on Saturday with all hopes of a medal resting largely on top archer Jayanta Talukdar.
The Indians have fielded an eight-member team for the event but the archers may find the going tough against the strong Koreans who are expected to dominate the event.
Talukdar has been in very good form this year having won the gold medal in the Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok. The Indian also had an impressive run at the World Championship, having topped the first leg in Croatia and finishing fourth in the Grand Final in Mexico.
In the women's section, the experienced Dola Banerjee will be the top contender while Reena Kumari and Chekrowolu Swuro will ride on their good performances in the past to ward off the Korean challenge.
Dola had won the gold in the European Grand Prix last year and won the gold in both individual and team events of the SAF Archery Championship in Dhaka. In the world championship in Madrid, she won the silver in team event.
The Indians could not make much of an impression in the last Olympic Games in Athens with the men's team losing in the pre-quarterfinals to Australia and the women's team being knocked out by France in the quarterfinals.
But the scenario has undergone a vast change since then with top archers like Talukdar and Tarundeep Rai putting up impressive performances in various international meets and a flock of promising youngsters waiting in the wings to make it big.
The competitions will begin with the men and women's individual qualifications rounds.
Teams:
Men's: Jayanta Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai, Vishwas and Mangal Singh.
Women's: Dola Banerjee, Reena Kumari, Chekrowolu Swuro and Punya Prabha.
