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Former World No. 1 archer Deepika Kumari looked in great shape as she topped the recent selection trials for the Paris Olympics and the World Cups. The veteran made the cut in the four-member team along with Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Komalika Bari.
Bari, who is a former youth champion, was picked ahead of Simranjeet Kaur. Deepika, who became a parent back in December 2022 along with fellow archer Atanu Das, could not take part in the last session.
However, this year, she has looked at her very best. Earlier in February, she won two gold medals at the Baghdad Asia Cup. The 29-year-old has not looked rusty after making a comeback and eased past Simranjeet to bag the gold medal in Baghdad.
Dhiraj Bommadevara is the only Indian archer to have secured a Paris Olympics quota so far. Mrinal Chauhan, Pravin Jadhav, and Tarundeep Rai are the other three members of the men’s recurve squad along with Bommadevara.
The Indian team made a change after roping in Chauhan in place of Parth Salunkhe.
Indian female archers will have a shot at going to Paris when the qualifying rounds in the World Cups take place.
The opening stage of the World Cup is scheduled to take place from April 21 to 28 in Shanghai. South Korea’s Yecheon will host the second stage from May 21 to 26. The third and final stage of the World Cup in Antalya will take place from June 18 to 23.
“This squad is provisional (for the Olympics), and we may make one or two alterations based on their performance in the first two stages of the World Cup,” Sanjeeva Singh, national high-performance director, was quoted as saying to PTI.
Squads
Recurve Men: Mrinal Chauhan, Pravin Jadhav, Tarundeep Rai and Dhiraj Bommadevara.
Recurve Women: Komalika Bari, Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari
