Indian archery team to begin Paris Olympics quest today

India will kick off its Paris Olympics journey on July 25 with archers Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai leading the charge in the ranking rounds at Les Invalides. For the first time since the 2012 London Olympics, India is fielding a full team of six archers, competing in all five medal events: men's team/individual, women's team/individual, and mixed team categories.

The ranking round is crucial, as performances over 72 arrows for each archer will determine seedings for individual and team events. The top four seeded teams in men's and women's competitions will directly qualify for the quarterfinals, while teams seeded eighth to 12th will compete for quarterfinal spots. Only the top 16 mixed pairs will advance based on combined scores from men's and women's categories.

This Olympics marks Deepika Kumari's fourth appearance and her first since becoming a mother. Tarundeep Rai is also participating in his fourth Olympics, with Pravin Jadhav making his second appearance after Tokyo 2020. Dhiraj Bommadevara, Bhajan Kaur, and Ankita Bhakat are making their Olympic debuts.

Indian archers have yet to win an Olympic medal. The archery competition at Paris 2024 starts with the individual ranking round on July 25, a day before the opening ceremony. The remaining stages will take place from July 28 to August 4 at Les Invalides. 

Paris 2024 Olympics India schedule: July 25, Thursday (all times in IST)
Women's Individual Ranking Round (Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur, Ankita Bhakat): 1:00 pm
Men's Individual Ranking Round (Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Pravin Jadhav): 5:45 pm