Indian archers all set for 'final test'

KOLKATA: Two years of hard work, with their eyes focused on the Olympics, came to a ceremonial end as the national camp for the Indian archers folded up at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Eastern Regional Centre here on Saturday. The real battle, though, begins now with the six-member recurve team leaving for the London Games on Sunday morning. As Archery Association of India general secretary Paresh Mukherjee put it aptly, "They were preparing here for the last two years and will be appearing for their final examination which begins at the end of this month."
Going by the preparation and recent international results, the archers will be among strong medal contenders at the London Games.National coach Limba Ram oozed confidence. "Both the men's and women's teams are in good form," he said. "They have been performing quite consistently over a period of time. If they can maintain this form, I am quite hopeful of some medals this time," he said.
Hogging the limelight was the team's youngest member Deepika Kumari, who is India's best bet for a medal. "I am not under any pressure. I am only focused on winning a medal for the country," the 18-year-old said. The Ranchi girl felt that wind will play a big role in the event. "We have heard that London will be very windy this time of the year. It will be a real challenge to get used to that quickly. Hopefully we will get adequate time to adjust to the conditions there."
The team won't get a chance to practise at the Lord's, the venue of archery. "We will get the chance to have a feel of the venue only a day before the event during the official practice session," Limba said.
The ranking round event, though, will be held in adjoining grounds, outside the main Lord's arena.
"The flow of wind outside the stadium will be quite different from what it will be inside the Lord's ground," pointed out Rahul Banerjee, a member of the men's team. "What is more worrying is the fact that the wind movement there is very erratic. It changes directions quickly," he added.
L Bombayla Devi feels India have a better chance of winning a medal this time.
"In the Beijing Games, we had a different women's team comprising Dola (Banerjee), Pranitha and myself. We did not do too badly, losing in the quarters. But this time we qualified quite early and could concentrate more on the Games," she said.