India's Archers Begin Paris Olympics Journey

India’s archery team, led by Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai, starts its Paris Olympics campaign with the ranking rounds at Les Invalides. For the first time since 2012, India has a full team of six archers competing in all five medal events.

India will commence its Paris Olympics campaign on Thursday, with the archery team led by Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai taking their first shots in the ranking rounds at Les Invalides. This marks the first time since the London 2012 Games that India is fielding a full team of six archers, contesting all five medal events in men's team/individual, women's team/individual, and mixed team categories, as reported by Olympics.com.

The ranking round is pivotal for India’s prospects in archery at these Olympics, as performances over 72 arrows for each of the six archers will determine seedings for individual and team events. For men's and women's team competitions, the top four seeded teams from these ranking rounds will secure direct quarterfinal berths, while teams ranked between eighth and 12th will compete for quarterfinal spots.

The rankings will also decide the entries in the mixed team competition, with only the top 16 pairs advancing. For each country represented by a male and a female archer, the highest scores in these categories will combine to determine their team's seeding.

This is Deepika Kumari's fourth Olympic appearance and her first since becoming a mother. Similarly, Tarundeep Rai is participating in his fourth Olympics, while teammate Pravin Jadhav competes for the second time after Tokyo 2020. The remaining archers—Dhiraj Bommadevara, Bhajan Kaur, and Ankita Bhakat—are making their Olympic debuts.

Historically, Indian archers have never won an Olympic medal. Archery at Paris 2024 will begin with individual ranking rounds on July 25, ahead of the Opening Ceremony, and will continue from July 28 to August 4 at Les Invalides. -PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS INDIA SCHEDULE TODAY: JULY 25, THURSDAY

All in Indian Standard Time (IST) Archery

Women's Individual Ranking Round (Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur, Ankita Bhakat) - 1:00 PMMen's Individual Ranking Round (Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Pravin Jadhav) - 5:45 PM. (ANI)