Archer Dhiraj aims for team qualification at Paris Olympics
The 22-year-old recurve archer qualified for the Summer Games in the men's individual event owing to his silver medal at the Asian Qualifying Tournament in Bangkok last year.
Dhiraj Bommadevara
NEW DELHI: Dhiraj Bommadevara, the only Indian archer to qualify for the individual event of the Paris Olympics, says locking a quota in the team events at the quadrennial extravaganza is next on their radar.
The 22-year-old recurve archer qualified for the Summer Games in the men's individual event owing to his silver medal at the Asian Qualifying Tournament in Bangkok last year.
"We are trying hard to convert the individual quota into a team quota, so we are working consistently towards it, planning for it and taking part in as many tournaments as possible," Dhiraj was quoted as saying in a SAI release.
"Our first priority is to get the team quota. We will go to Paris 2024 with a simple mindset just to give our best. The rest is not in our hands. No expectation on results. We have to be prepared for everything and perform accordingly."
The Indian men's recurve team has been in good form. Last week, the trio of Dhiraj, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav had stunned reigning Olympic champions South Korea to land a historic World Cup gold medal after 14 years.
The World Cup in Antalya, Turkey in June is the final qualifying event for the Paris Olympics.
However, if the Indian men's team is unable to make the cut there, it is still in prime position to qualify for the Olympics owing to the rankings. The top-two ranked team in the world get direct entry for the Games. India are ranked second so far behind Korea.
Dhiraj was also a part of the silver-winning men's team at the Asian Games last year.
Despite doing well at in World Cups, World Championship and other marquee events, Indian archers have yet to get their hands on an elusive medal at the Olympics.
"We are trying to achieve better versions of our past. We're not comparing with any other nation. Our priority is only to get better and improve from lessons learnt.
Talking about the impact of the compound team's performances he said, "Our compound team is the best in the world. Its performance helps us push ourselves. Both the compound bow and the recurve bow competitions are equally tough."
"How Jyothi (Surekha) didi handles her pressure in various categories – individual, mixed or team event – is really commendable and inspiring," he added.