Yecheon [Korea], May 20 (ANI): Three-time Olympian Deepika Kumari will spearhead the Indian challenge at the Archery World Cup 2024 Stage 2, which starts in Yecheon, Republic of Korea, on Tuesday.
The Archery World Cup Stage 2 in Yecheon will be held between May 21 and 26.
India have sent the same 16-member archery team that took part in the first stage of the Archery World Cup in Shanghai, China, last month.
India emerged as the top team at the first stage in Shanghai after winning eight medals. The tally included five gold medals, two silver and one bronze.
All eyes will be on Deepika Kumari, who won the silver medal in the women’s recurve event in Shanghai, after losing to Korean archer Lim Sihyeon in the gold medal match.
It was Deepika’s second consecutive medal at the international level since returning from a 14-month maternity break. She won the gold medal at the Asia Cup in February.
Deepika is yet to obtain a quota for India in archery for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Based on the performances of the archers in the first two stages, the Indian team for the third stage of the World Cup in Antalya, Turkiye from June 18 to 23 will be selected. It will be the final qualifying event for recurve archers before the Paris 2024 Olympics, a release said.
The Indian men’s recurve team of Tarundeep Rai, Pravin Jadhav and Dhiraj Bommadevara clinched the gold medal at the Archery World Cup in Shanghai. They stunned the top-seeded team from South Korea 5-1 in the final.
This was the men’s recurve team’s first Archery World Cup gold medal in 14 years.
India also managed to clinch the mixed team recurve bronze courtesy Ankita Bhakat and Bommadevara. India’s eight-member squad in recurve archery also doubles up as the provisional squad for the Paris Olympics 2024.
In the non-Olympic compound events, India’s archers won five medals, including four golds, to finish the Shanghai meet with eight medals. It was the country’s best tally at any single edition of an archery World Cup and the compound archers will be looking to repeat a similar performance in Yecheon.
The winners of the individual events will automatically qualify for the Archery World Cup Final to be held in Tlaxcala, Mexico in October. (ANI)
