"We are on right track": Dhiraj after securing quarterfinal berth at Paris Olympics in Archery Men's Team Event

PARIS: After registering a direct berth in the quarterfinals of the men's team archery event in the Paris Olympics, which is set to begin on Friday, archer Dhiraj Bommadevara expressed his feelings, saying that the team has been preparing for this event for the last two years and that they are on the right track to win a medal for their country. India's archery team, comprising Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Jadhav, directly qualified for the quarter-finals of the event at the Paris Olympics 2024 by securing a third-place finish with 2013 points in the Men's Archery Ranking Round on Thursday.

"I am very happy with my performance today. We have been preparing for the games for the last two years and we are on the right track... We are focusing on what we are supposed to do," Dhiraj told ANI. The Indian women's archery team, comprising Bhajan Kaur, Deepika Kumari and Ankita Bhakat, also qualified directly for the quarterfinals of the event at the Paris Olympics by securing a fourth-place finish with 1983 points. Women's archer Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur also shared their thoughts after the qualification.

"I scored my best today. I cannot say that I am satisfied, but I think I performed well. I could have done better... My best is yet to come. This is the best time for me to give my best performance...," Ankita Bhakat said. "Everything went well. We will try to perform even better because a lot of competition is yet to come... We have become used to the wind and the weather in Paris as we came here some time ago...," Bhajan Kaur said. Badminton star PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, and table tennis veteran Sharath Kamal, set to feature in his fifth Olympics, will lead the Indian contingent at the Paris 2024 Parade of Nations. Both will become the first athletes from their respective sports to be India's flag-bearers at such a big event.

A 29-member athletics team led by Neeraj Chopra forms a large chunk of the contingent that will be travelling to France for the Olympics. There will also be a 21-member-strong shooting contingent, which will be the second-largest team sent by India for any sport at Paris 2024. This is the biggest shooting team India has sent in its Olympic history, with 15 shooters sent during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as per Olympics.com.

The archers competing in Paris include stars like Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai. They will be competing in the individual ranking rounds on July 25 and will be the first Indians in action prior to the opening ceremony scheduled for the next day. India will be getting their first shot at a medal during the mixed team air rifle medal matches scheduled for July 27 at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux.

Two Indian teams, Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal, will be competing in this event. Manu Bhaker will compete in two individual pistol events and the 10 m air pistol mixed team competition as well. The star of the show, the reigning Olympic and World champion javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra, will be in action in August. The qualifiers for the men's javelin throw event will take place on July 6 and the final will take place two days later.

Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu will be aiming to make it a hat-trick of medals during badminton events scheduled from July 27 to August 5. Tokyo 2020 silver medalist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu will be in action in the women's 49 kg category competition scheduled for August 7, the release added. Lovlina Borgohain, who secured a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics will be in action during the boxing events starting on July 27 and concluding on August 10.

Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen is all set to make her Olympic debut as a huge medal prospect for Team India. The 16 sports India will be competing in during Paris 2024 are: archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis and tennis.

The Olympics will conclude on August 11. India will look to outdo its tally of seven medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which included a gold, two silver, and four bronze medals. Indian viewers can watch the premier sports event on the Sports18 1 SD and Sports18 1 HD TV channels. Live streaming of the Paris 2024 Olympics will be available on Jio Cinema for free, as per Olympics.com.