Gangtok, June 30: Tarundeep Rai will become the only Sikkimese representing the country in the 2004 Olympics when he takes centre stage at Panathanaikos stadium in Athens between August 15 and August 21 this year.
Still in his teens, Rai, a member of the country’s six-member archery squad for the Olympics, is also the second sportsperson from the state to have been selected to participate in the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza. Earlier, boxer Jaslal Pradhan was the only Sikkimese to have represented India in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Rai, who hails from Purano Namchi, was selected because of his performance in the 42nd World Archery Championship held in New York in July 2003. The Indian team had stormed into the semi-finals where it had to face Russia. The Indians were defeated, but Rai gave his best individual performance, thereby booking a berth for himself and the Indian team in the Olympics. This is also the first time that India has secured a berth in archery in the Olympics.
Rai, who received his training at Army Sports Institute in Pune, has also topped the eight national archery tournaments hosted by the Archery Association of India (AAI). The AAI had announced that those securing the first three positions in the tournaments would automatically be selected for the Olympics.
Rai, the son of a professional photographer, started participating in archery tournaments from an early age. Last year, he gave a stunning performance at the Third National Archery Tournament held in Hyderabad, notching up a remarkable first round score of 1334, the highest ever scored by an Indian. Officials had then declared that the tally was among the world’s top 10.
The Panathanaikos stadium in Athens is also known as “Kallimarmaro”. The venue for the archery tournament, it is also the stadium where the first modern Olympics games was held in 1896.
It is yet to be seen whether Rai gets the first archery gold for the country or, even more, the first Olympiad medal for the state. If he hits bull’s eye, he stands a chance to win the jackpot amount of Rs 1 crore that chief minister Pawan Chamling had announced two years ago for any sportsperson who brings home an international trophy.
