Archery is one sport which has been played or practised in our country since mythological times. But in modern times, it's a sport which still languishes on the bottom rung of expectations, viewership and recognition.
One male and three female archers so far have booked their tickets for the Beijing Olympics, and not too many are gung-ho about India's medal chances in this discipline.
Dola Banerjee, L Bombayla Devi and V Pranitha are the three women who have made the cut, while Mangal Singh Champia is the lone male representative.
While the archers themselves are downplaying their chances, they know that, just like shooting, one's form on the particular day of the event matters in archery.
Banerjee is a veteran and has been the torch-bearer for the sport over the last few years. With a World Cup medal in her bag, a lot was expected out of her. But a slight dip in form meant that she had to struggle to make it to Beijing.
She remains upbeat about her chances. "It's never easy at the Olympics but we have a decent team who can do well over there," she says. This would be her second Olympics and she hopes to pass on the experience to her teammates.
At the last Olympics, she finished a disappointing 52nd in the individual category, while ending eighth in the team event. She is looking to put that disappointment behind her and do much better this time around.
Champia, on the other hand, goes to Beijing with some impressive form under his belt. He won the individual bronze medal at the Asian Championships in late 2007 to secure his place on the flight to Beijing. Champia is undergoing intensive training in Korea as part of his preparations for Beijing.
Pranitha is a rookie archer who surprised everyone by topping the selection trials with impressive scores. At 17, she is one of the youngest members of the contingent and will be looking to gain invaluable experience at these Olympics.
Bombayla Devi, from Manipur, has been a consistent performer nationally and internationally, and was one of the first to qualify for the Olympics. Since then her form has been pretty consistent and she will be a part of the team as well as individual event.
With not much experience in the team it won't be an easy ride for any of the archers at Beijing, and they know that. Most of them will go to give their best shot and see how far it takes them.
Barring Limba Ram in the 1990s, not many Indian archers have been able to make a mark on the international scene. While this team of archers have been doing consistently well at the Asian level, it will be a totally different game when they compete with the best in the world.
Banerjee is aware of this and knows it will be an uphill task to win. "We have a young team and it would do them a lot of good just to be a part of the contingent." Medal hopes are extremely slim in this discipline and, to be honest, not much is being expected as well.
Banerjee, however, feels that one good performance or result will give the sport a much-needed fillip in India. "Apart from recognition and rewards, it's about getting people to take notice, and if we manage to do that at Beijing, it will be a success story in itself." It's the second successive Olympics for this 28-year-old from Kolkata, and she feels that just being there helped her in improving many aspects of her game.
While archery looks like yet another discipline where we might just be making up the numbers, the archery team will be looking to change such perceptions.
As an official of Archery Association of India (AAI) puts it, "We are sending the best we have and are confident of putting on a decent show at Beijing." Let's see how the best we have on offer fare against the best the rest of the world has on display.
