Three of the six-member recurve archery team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games will leave for Edinburgh on Tuesday evening to take part in the World Cup grand final to be held on Saturday and Sunday.
Dola Banerjee, Deepika Kumari and Jayanta Talukdar constitute the Indian challenge at the best of five-set elimination event.
Having won the title in 2007 in Dubai, Dola stands a chance of creating history by becoming the first archer to win the grand final twice. Italy’s Marco Galiazzo and Korea’s Im Dong-Hyun among recurve men, and Korea’s Yun Ok-Hee among recurve women too are on that threshold.
It will not be easy for Dola who is going as the seventh-ranked archer after China’s Guo Faping opted out and she faces No. 2 Justyna Mospinek of Poland. “I am not looking at winning. My focus is the Commonwealth Games and the three of us have the chance to make last-minute adjustments and match practice,” said Dola, who has a niggle in her lower back and went for an X-ray.
This will be Talukdar’s third grand final. The Guwahati-born Tata Academy archer had qualified for the event in Mexico in 2006 and in Denmark last year but has failed to make a mark. This time his form is on the rise and he will face Michele Frangilli of Italy in the first round.
{{/usCountry}}This will be Talukdar’s third grand final. The Guwahati-born Tata Academy archer had qualified for the event in Mexico in 2006 and in Denmark last year but has failed to make a mark. This time his form is on the rise and he will face Michele Frangilli of Italy in the first round.
{{/usCountry}}“I am confident going into the meet especially after winning bronze at the World Cup in Shanghai. This will also give me vital match practice with the new bow after my older one developed a crack during practice,” Talukdar, currently ranked fifth in the world, said.
Deepika will look to carry on her dream run ever since she stepped into the senior circuit. The 17-year-old reigning cadet world champion from Ranchi won the individual silver medal in Shanghai and was part of the silver-medal winning women’s team at the World Cup in Ogden.
“I will be just focusing on giving my best. I have been doing this since I came into the senior team and it has worked well. I did not have much of an idea about this event and was not following my points,” Deepika, who has jumped to fifth in the world rankings, said.