Rahul Banerjee with sister Dola during a practice session at the SAI on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Dola Banerjee is hoping to get an “ideal” preparation for the Olympics when she will cross arrows with the leading rivals in the two World Cups.

Dola is part of the senior women’s recurve team which will take part in the first two of the four World Cups before the Beijing Games in August.

The first World Cup will be held in the Dominican Republic city of Santo Domingo from April Tuesday to Saturday, followed by the second one in Porec in Croatia from April 15 to 19.

“The back-to-back World Cups will provide me with a great opportunity to judge where I stand vis-a-vis the other archers… If needed, I can also carry out a few changes in my game plan before the Olympics,” Dola said after a practice session at the SAI Eastern Complex on Friday.

Dola, however, is already in the Olympics groove. “Yes, there will be pressure on everybody. But I will play my natural game… Being natural will be my mental preparations for the big show in Beijing. I will make sure that my confidence level is always high going into the Olympics.”

Meanwhile, the Archery Association of India (AAI) named a 16-member squad for the first two World Cup meets. The contingent, which left for Chennai en route to Paris for Santo Domingo on Friday night itself, has three coaches and a manager.

The recurve team has a new coach in Lee Wang Woo of South Korea. The world-renowned coach. Apart from Lee, the squad also has Richpal Singh and Purnima Mahato as the other coaches and Sanjeeva Singh as manager.

The SQUAD

Recurve, (Men): Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul Banerjee (both Steel Plant), Mangal Singh Champia (Rly) and Tarundeep Rai (Ser); Women: L. Bombayla Devi, Dola Banerjee (both Rly), V. Pranitha (SP) and Chekrovolu Swuro (Nag); Compound (Men): Kh. Ratan Kumar (Ser), Isiah R. Sanam (AP), Chungda Sherpa (Ser) and Babban Kumar (MP); Women: Jhano Hansdah, Bheigyabati Chanu, Namita Yadav (all Jharkhand), Vrushali Gorle (Mah).