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Xtra Time Web Desk: The upcoming Tokyo Olympics can prove to be India’s best chance for winning multiple medals. As many as 126 athletes will be representing the country in 18 disciplines. With six days to go for the biggest sporting spectacle, all eyes will be on the athletes who will carry the hopes of the nation.  Xtra Time has been analyzing the medal prospects of the country at Tokyo Summer Games in various disciplines. Let us focus on the Indian badminton team.

Tokyo Olympics can be the perfect stage for the Indian archers to win its first medal for the country. Back of a stupendous show at the World Cup Stage 3 in Paris, the quartet of Deepika Kumari, Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav will be high on confidence.

India has qualified for four of the five archery events at the Tokyo Games. World No 1Deepika Kumari will participate in the women’s recurve event, while Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das and Pravin Jadhav will participate in the men’s individual and recurve team event. Apart from the women’s individual recurve events, India’s best chance will also be at the recurve mixed event which makes its debut at Tokyo 2020.

Indian squad: Deepika Kumari, Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav

Past performances in Olympics: Archery is one of the sports in the Olympics in which India is yet to win a medal.

Deepika Kumari, Women's Recurve: 

She will be India's biggest medal hope from archery at the Tokyo Games. Deepika is currently ranked World No. 1 in her category will hope to bury the disappointments of London 2012 and Rio 2016. She is in the form of her life, having claimed three gold medals at recently held World Cup stage 3 in Paris. She is the only female archer to have qualified for the Tokyo Games in the individual event. She had won the individual Olympic quota at the 2019 Asian Archery Championships. She will also compete in the recurve mixed event with husband Atanu Das. The pair warmed up for Tokyo in fine fashion by winning the gold in Paris.

Tarundeep Rai, Men’s Team Recurve
Tokyo 2020 will be the third Olympics for the veteran archer, having previously been a part of the Indian contingent at the 2004 Athens and 2012 London Olympics. He is a two-time silver medalist at the World Championship silver and also has two Asian Games medals to his name. The 37 year old got selected at the final trials at the Army Institute of Sports in Pune. Tarundeep finished third overall, behind Atanu Das and Pravin Jadhav.

Atanu Das, Men’s Team Recurve
Like his wife Deepika, Atanu Das will be high on confidence having won two gold at the World Cup stage 1in Guatemala City (individual event) and the 2021 Paris World Cup stage 3 (mixed team event). One of the top archers in the country, Atanu Das booked himself a spot in the Tokyo Games with an impressive show at the 2019 World Championships. This will be his second appearance at the Olympics, having been eliminated in the Round of 16 at Rio.

Pravin Jadhav, Men’s Recurve: 

He qualified for the mega event at the World Archery Championships when India's Men's Recurve team bagged a silver medal in the Netherlands. In the selection trials at the Army Sports Institute in Pune this year, Jadhav topped the standings of all Indian archers, bagging a total of 8 points, ahead of Atanu Das (7.5) and Tarundeep Rai (6) in the Men's category.