It's a now-or-never situation for me: Tarundeep Rai

PARIS: It's a "now-or-never situation for me", says veteran Indian archer Tarundeep Rai as he seeks to win a maiden Olympic medal in his fourth appearance at the Games while also serving as the team's unofficial mentor in Paris.

The 40-year-old Rai has won medals in every championships at the global and continental level but not the Olympics.

He has two silver at the World Championships (2005, 2019), nine World Cup medals, including three gold, a silver and a bronze in Asian Games, two silver and a bronze in Asian Championships.

"It's emotional every day. It's the fourth time. It's a now-or-never situation for me, and that's what I tell my teammates too. Maybe someone playing his first or second Olympics should think like it's now or never. You have to put in an effort as if it's going to be your last," Rai told PTI in an interview.

The veteran archer from Sikkim was part of the Indian teams at the 2004 Athens, 2012 London and 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He exited in the first round in the individual event in Athens, and in the second round in both 2012 and 2021 editions.

In Tokyo, the men's team, which had Tarundeep Rai in it its ranks, reached the quarterfinals.

"Olympics is a dream for everyone, and I'm no different. You need an extreme level of preparation for this, and you have to put in a lot of hard work to qualify and win a medal. The colour of your sweat sometimes turns red," Rai said ahead of the Paris Games.

"This Olympics, I'm playing with a three-year gap. Positive sign. Many changes. Tokyo, whatever I lacked, the objective is to rectify. Will do my best," said Rai who hails from Namchi in Sikkim.

More or less regular at the Olympics since debuting back in 1988, the Indian archers will be aiming to fetch their maiden medal as they began the country's campaign here on Thursday with the qualification rounds.

"There are always expectations. We had the potential to win, but for small margins, we have returned empty-handed," Rai rued.

"We have kept that in control (this time). Coaches, management, players' mentality, we have kept that in check. Everyone is in their best form."

For the first time since London 2012, India will have a full six-member squad after both the men's and women's teams qualified on the basis of rankings. This means they will compete in all the five events.

Rai failed to make it to the Hangzhou Asian Games last year and said it was a wake-up call for him.

"Yes, the Asian Games was a realization period and gave me a lot of positive vibes. If that did not happen, maybe I would not have made it to my fourth Olympics and reached here.

"That shock made me aware of my weaknesses and what I needed to work on. I took that positively and worked on it."

Rai said he has set up an academy in Sikkim to pass on his knowledge to the future generation.

"Coaching or not, you have to give something back to the sport. This is one thing we have lacked. Transfer of technique, transfer of experience. Senior archers leaving should come back. This gap we have to fill up.

"I don't want my 28 years of experience to go waste, sitting idle at home. The AAI should also think about it.

"An experienced person in the coaching field can give a youngster that experience. It's about giving back. We have to fill that gap. I want to contribute to Indian archery in the future."