New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) After sealing a historic World Cup gold recently, the Indian archers, who are undergoing “strong technical training”, can land a maiden Olympic gold medal in Paris, reckoned renowned coach and mentor Kim Hyung Tak.
Dhiraj Bommadevara is the lone Indian to seal the Paris 2024 quota place for India in archery so far.
“The Indian recurve team is undergoing very strong technical training. This will definitely help get good results in the Olympics,” Kim said after conducting a coaches’ seminar at the Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence in Sonepat.
“By keeping this consistency in training and preparation, I think it is very much possible to get a medal in Paris,” he added.
The Indian recurve archers are striving for a team quota in the final qualification tournament to be held in Antalya, Turkey from June 14 to 17.
The hopes are quite high after the Indian team of Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav shocked reigning Olympic champions South Korea to clinch a World Cup gold after 14 years in Shanghai on April 28.
Kim, who also supervised a two-day national team preparatory camp at Sonepat, said the constant training has helped the side raise its standards.
“The average level of the team has got a notch higher because of the talented men’s and women’s recurve team here.
“The frequent coaching camps by SAI and Archery Association of India too are contributing to the cause,” said Kim, who led the Korean women’s recurve team to its first Olympic gold at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
Giving an insight into the training programme at SAI, Kim said the synergy between different departments has given the archers a fresh momentum.
“Since I’ve come here, I’ve seen more high level and detailed training provided to the archers. The training programmes, which use a lot of technology, are also very well-crafted.
“The coaches are continuously mentoring the archers on managing training schedules to training times. The psychology team is also working around the clock and good mentoring is being provided as a whole,” he said.
Kim, who has the experience of working with over 500 archers from across 30 nations, said the senior Indian archers have been lending a helping hand to the budding stars.
“There are many young archers. The experienced heads like Deepika (Kumari) and Tarundeep are guiding them. This helps a lot in team building and this is very important in the build-up to the Paris Games,” noted Kim, who had a special session with three-time Olympian Deepika, who is trying to punch her ticket to Paris riding on some strong performances after motherhood.
Source: PTI News
