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World-renowned archery coach Kim Hyung Tak believes that India has a strong chance of securing its first-ever Olympic medal in archery at the Paris 2024 Games. The Korean coach, who has over 40 years of experience, recently conducted a coaches’ seminar at the Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence in Sonepat, Haryana.

Kim praised the Indian recurve team’s technical training and communication between archers and coaches. He emphasized the importance of consistency in training and preparation, stating that it is crucial for achieving success at the Olympics.

“By keeping this consistency in training and preparation, I think it is very much possible to get a medal in Paris,” Kim told SAI Media.

India has already secured one Paris 2024 quota place in archery through Dhiraj Bommadevara. The Indian recurve archers are now aiming for a team quota in the final qualification tournament in Antalya, Turkey, from June 14 to 17.

Kim believes that the Indian team has improved significantly, thanks to the talented archers and frequent coaching camps organized by the Sports Authority of India and Archery Association of India. He also highlighted the importance of collaboration between coaches and archers.

“The average level of the team has got a notch higher because of the talented men’s and women’s recurve team here. The frequent coaching camps by Sports Authority of India and Archery Association of India too are contributing to the cause and constant collaboration is only helping the team get that elusive medal at the Olympics,” Kim said.

Kim, who led the Korean women’s recurve team to its first Olympic gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, also supervised a two-day national team preparation camp at Sonepat. He was impressed by the coaching program at SAI, Sonepat, which has produced consistent results in recent times.

“Since I’ve come here, I’ve seen more high level and detailed training provided to the archers. The training programs, which use a lot of technology, are also very well crafted. The coaches are continuously mentoring the archers on managing training schedules to training times. The psychology team is also working around the clock and good mentoring is being provided as a whole,” Kim said.

Kim’s optimism for Indian archery is based on the presence of young archers and experienced veterans like Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai. He believes that the team’s strong performances and the support of the coaching staff will help them achieve their goal of an Olympic medal in Paris.