New Delhi October 4:
Archery will tomorrow mark its first outing at the Commonwealth Games after 28 years, and both Indian men's and women's teams being the top ranked side in the tournament, it is expected to be an India dominated competition.
With the Indian archers getting the top individual rankings at the 19th Commonwealth Games, out of 28 medals, including eight gold, that are up for grab, hosts are expected to secure a rich haul of 12 to 16 medals.
In men's recurve section, India's closest rival on current rankings are world No 8 Great Britain, which are already divided in three parts - England, Scotland and Wales. The women's recurve is ranked sixth in the world and will again be challenged by the Great Britain, ranked 16.
Having hit the bull's eye at the World Cup in Shanghai last week, the troika of Jayantha Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee looks in good form and high spirit. While, current world no 10 and the only Indian to win a World Cup Grand Final Dola Banerjee will be spearheading India's challenge in the women's section along with young talents - last year's cadet world champion 16-year old Deepika Kumari and 25-year-old Laishram Bombayla Devi.
The compound category men's team also boasts of national champion C Srither along with Ch Jignas and Ritul Chatterjee, while Jhanu Hansda will lead the challenge in the women's section with support from equally talented Gangandeep Kaur and Bheigyabati Chanu. England, South Africa, Australia, Canada and Malaysia are the other teams to look for at the Archery competition of the October 3-14 multi-sports event.
Though, rains and construction delays have snatched away the home advantage from the archers but coach Limba Ram believes that the players are high on confidence after recent success in the World Cup and the Asian Grand Prix and they will make up for the lost benefit. ''Out of the eight gold medals at stake, I am confident of grabbing four gold medals in the recurve section, while in compound, I expect at least two gold medals, whether from the team or individual competitions,'' Ram said.
''The trio of Jayanta, Rai and Banerjee is in very good form as we saw in the World Cup in Shanghai (earlier this month) they shot world class scores. India won the team gold and Talukdar claimed the individual bronze,'' he added. Earlier, it was proposed to host the archery finals at the high-profile India Gate but cost and security fears torpedoed the plan.
The Yamuna Sports Complex, originally the host for the preliminary rounds only, will now also host the finals also. It will host competitions for two different bow types - recurve and compound, with individual and team elements in both disciplines.
Archery will tomorrow mark its first outing at the Commonwealth Games after 28 years, and both Indian men's and women's teams being the top ranked side in the tournament, it is expected to be an India dominated competition.
With the Indian archers getting the top individual rankings at the 19th Commonwealth Games, out of 28 medals, including eight gold, that are up for grab, hosts are expected to secure a rich haul of 12 to 16 medals.
In men's recurve section, India's closest rival on current rankings are world No 8 Great Britain, which are already divided in three parts - England, Scotland and Wales. The women's recurve is ranked sixth in the world and will again be challenged by the Great Britain, ranked 16.
Having hit the bull's eye at the World Cup in Shanghai last week, the troika of Jayantha Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee looks in good form and high spirit. While, current world no 10 and the only Indian to win a World Cup Grand Final Dola Banerjee will be spearheading India's challenge in the women's section along with young talents - last year's cadet world champion 16-year old Deepika Kumari and 25-year-old Laishram Bombayla Devi.
The compound category men's team also boasts of national champion C Srither along with Ch Jignas and Ritul Chatterjee, while Jhanu Hansda will lead the challenge in the women's section with support from equally talented Gangandeep Kaur and Bheigyabati Chanu. England, South Africa, Australia, Canada and Malaysia are the other teams to look for at the Archery competition of the October 3-14 multi-sports event.
Though, rains and construction delays have snatched away the home advantage from the archers but coach Limba Ram believes that the players are high on confidence after recent success in the World Cup and the Asian Grand Prix and they will make up for the lost benefit. ''Out of the eight gold medals at stake, I am confident of grabbing four gold medals in the recurve section, while in compound, I expect at least two gold medals, whether from the team or individual competitions,'' Ram said.
''The trio of Jayanta, Rai and Banerjee is in very good form as we saw in the World Cup in Shanghai (earlier this month) they shot world class scores. India won the team gold and Talukdar claimed the individual bronze,'' he added. Earlier, it was proposed to host the archery finals at the high-profile India Gate but cost and security fears torpedoed the plan.
The Yamuna Sports Complex, originally the host for the preliminary rounds only, will now also host the finals also. It will host competitions for two different bow types - recurve and compound, with individual and team elements in both disciplines.
