Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 29

Two days after returning from Tokyo, the Indian archery team comprising Deepika Kumari, Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav and Tarundeep Rai is supposed to shoot at trials for the World Archery Championships. As per the Archery Association of India (AAI) secretary general, Pramod Chandurkar, a two-day break should be enough for the archers.

AAI has released the circular calling for the trials — for the compound archers on August 2-3 and for the recurve archers on August 4-5 in Sonepat.

AAI had scheduled the trials from August 12 to 19 but preponed the dates after the organising committee sought passport details urgently to release visa support letters for the Indian team.

The urgency and AAI’s decision to include the junior archers, who are leaving for the World Archery Youth Championships to be held in Wroclaw, Poland, have forced the officials to hold the trials at the earliest.

Both Deepika and Atanu have entered the Round of 16 in individual competition of the Tokyo Olympics. The announcement will come as a disappointment for the archers, who were looking forward to taking some break after a hectic three months of continuous shooting. “Imagine how Deepika and Atanu would feel right now. They are in with a chance to win a medal and they release the circular now. They may get affected by this,” said an archer who did not wish to be named.

Many senior archers have written to AAI saying the preponing of the trials was wrong as some of them were getting treatment for niggling injury problems, while some had taken time off. Rain in NCR over the last few days is also not helping the archers, as many of them have not been able to practice.

Chandurkar said that they had no other option as any delay in the trials would make Indian participation doubtful at the World Championships that will be held in Yankton, USA, from September 19. “The junior team is leaving for Poland on August 7 so we had to wrap it up quickly because if we don’t send our details soon we may not even participate,” Chandurkar told The Tribune.