CHENNAI: When Deepika Kumari first represented India in the 2012 Olympics, Bhajan Kaur, an archer from Haryana, was only seven years old. Fast forward to Paris 2024, and Kaur, along with Kumari and Ankita Bhakat, is part of India’s women’s archery team in the Olympics.
Bhajan had already secured the individual quota by clinching gold at the final world qualifying tournament in Antalya before World Cup stage three. Days later, the women’s team also gained the quota based on the updated World Archery rankings.
India topped the rankings among the non-qualified nations in both men’s and women’s sections to seal their team quotas. With that, India has an opportunity to compete in all five medal events in Paris – men’s and women’s teams, individual, and mixed categories.
“It was a great feeling when I won the individual quota because we had none for women before that,” Kaur told this daily.
“Winning the gold medal in the world qualifier also gave us the confidence that we could do better in the World Cup that followed and clinched the team’s quota. We were all together when we received the news that we had earned the team quota. It took us some time and we had to put in some fight, but I am happy,” the 18-year-old added.
