India’s Archery workforce members who will take part within the 2023 World Cup Stage 1 at Antalya, Turkey. Photo: Twitter/@india_archery
In an enormous enhance to Indian archery forward of the 2024 Paris Games, the nationwide federation has employed Olympic gold medal-winning coach Baek Woong Ki to work with the recurve workforce.
The South Korean, who oversaw his nation’s double gold medal-winning present in girls’s particular person and workforce sections at London Olympics, will start his India stint with the season-opening World Cup Stage 1, slated in Antalya, Turkey from April 18.
This is the primary time after the 2014 Asian Games that India have employed a overseas coach.
In reality, the Archery Association of India (AAI) even have roped in two-time Italian World Cup winner Sergio Pagni, who’s accompanying the compound workforce to the Turkey World Cup.
Woong Ki was initially a part of the Centre of Excellence in SAI, Sonipat and now he has been given a contract until the Olympics.
“He has been made India recurve coach and will be till Asian Games and then the Olympics,” Indian archery excessive efficiency director and Dronacharya Awardee Sanjeeva Singh advised PTI.
The 44-year-old former world champion, Pagni, then again, had been related to the compound workforce since 2018, when he had carried out a coaching programme forward of the Asian Games.
“His familiarity and experience with Indian archers made him an automatic choice,” he added.
The upcoming World Cup would be the first huge check for the duo as India are fielding a new-look squad comprising largely juniors.
Barring the trio of 2010 Asian Games silver medallist Tarundeep Rai, two-time Olympian Atanu Das, and World Championships silver medallist compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam, the Indian squad have fairly a number of new names.
All eyes can be on the high-profile Korean to carry out the perfect from the Indian workforce which can miss huge names comparable to Deepika Kumari, Riddhi Phor and Komalika Bari, who’ve didn’t make the reduce.
“I’ve met Woong Ki during the trials in Kolkata, he was part of the CoE and looked full of energy and positive vibes. I’m looking forward to a good show,” Deepika stated.
While the recurve males workforce would be the most fancied banking on the expertise of Rai and Das, all eyes can be on the ladies’s facet the place Aditi Jaiswal will play her second World Cup.
The largest title to overlook out within the compound part is top-ranked Indian Abhishek Verma (world No. 13), a five-time World Cup gold medal winner and a former World Championship silver medallist.
The compound part could have two debutants every within the males’s and girls’s sections — Rishabh Yadav, Ojas Deotale, Aditi Swamy and Sakshi Choudhary.
“The juniors are upcoming and doing well. They have come through a rigorous two-phase trial in Kolkata and Sonipat. We expect them to come out strongly,” Singh stated.
“We want to see how they overcome anxiety pangs. A good start (in the qualification) will set them up,” Singh added.
Teams:
Recurve Men: B Dhiraj, Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai, Neeraj Chauhan
Recurve Women: Bhajan Kaur, Aditi Jaiswal, Ankita Bhakat, Simranjit Kaur
Compound Men: Prathmesh Jawhar, Rajat Chauhan, Ojas Deotale, Rishab Yadav
Compound Women: Avneet Kaur, V Jyothi Surekha, Aditi Swamy, Sakshi Choudhary.
