Team bonding key for Indian archers eyeing first Olympic medal in 36 years

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 added.

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

GREY AREA

The only grey area is that the Indian men's team has not faced Turkey in the recent past, especially after Gazoz's rise.

"It's true that we have not played them in the recent past but at the same time we have created history beating Korea for the World Cup gold in Shanghai in this year's World Cup.

"The boys are not bothered who are the opponents. That has been the focus of our training in the lead up to the Olympics," the coach said.

"Be it Turkey, France or Korea, we will just focus on our processes to shoot well. If your technique and release is right, nobody is going to stop you from getting a 10," he said.

The coach said video analysis of the archers plays a crucial role.

"Breathing psychology is important, and we guide them mentally. On the shooting line, we emphasize how to shoot the arrow correctly. We work mainly on the process and the technique.

"We use video analysis, both slow motion and fast forward, to identify what should be done and what’s going wrong. We will remain in the field for tough training. We have two more days of training left."

Another positive for the men's team this time is that Korea figures at the opposite end of the draw.

"It's definitely an advantage but as I said the boys are not intimidated by any team we will just follow the process and the team bonding is really important."

MEDAL CONTENDERS

If India overcomes the quarterfinal hurdle, hosts France, who will face the winners of the match between Italy and Kazakhstan, are likely to be India's semi-final opponents.

"We have beaten France three times out of five in the recent friendly matches in the build-up to the Games," said Indian high performance director Sanjeeva Singh.

"The Olympic pressure will be different but they have it in him to beat any team. Tarundeep must not hold his releases, while Pravin has to be quick. They have to be quick, bold and fast at the shooting line.

"Definitely they can be final contenders and who knows we will say an India-Korea gold medal match," added Singh.