National federation has hired Olympic gold medalist Paek Woong-ki to work with recurve team
Post Date – 06:00 AM, Tuesday – 4/18/23
National federation has hired Olympic gold medalist Paek Woong-ki to work with recurve team
Calcutta: In a bid to boost Indian archery ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the National Federation has hired Olympic gold medalist coach Baek Woong Ki to work with the recurve team.
The South Korean, who saw his nation’s double gold medalist perform in the women’s individual and team competitions at the London Olympics, will start his tour of India with the first stage of the season-opening World Cup in Antalya, Turkey on Tuesday.
This is the first time India has hired a foreign coach since the 2014 Asian Games.
In fact, the Archery Association of India (AAI) also invited Sergio Pagni, a two-time World Cup winner in Italy, to accompany the composite team at the World Cup in Turkey.
Woong Ki started out as a member of SAI Sonipat’s Center of Excellence and has now secured a contract until the Olympics.
“He has been appointed as India’s recurve coach and will remain in charge for the Asian Games and the Olympics,” Sanjeeva Singh, India’s high-level archery director and Dronacharya winner, told PTI.
Former world champion Pagani, 44, on the other hand, has been linked with the compound team since 2018, when he trained ahead of the Asian Games.
“His familiarity and experience with Indian archers made him a natural choice,” he added.
The upcoming World Cup will be the duo’s first big test, as India are fielding a new squad made up mostly of teenagers.
Apart from the trio of 2010 Asian Games silver medalist Tarundeep Rai, two-time Olympian Atanu Das and World Championships silver medalist compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam, there are quite a few new names on the Indian team.
All eyes will be on the high-profile South Korean to inspire the best of the Indian team, which will miss out on big names like Deepika Kumari, Ridipur and Komalikabari who failed to make the cut .
“I met Woong Ki at the tryouts in Kolkata, he was part of CoE and he seemed to be full of energy and a positive vibe. I was looking forward to a great performance,” said Deepika.
While the Recurve men’s team will be the favourites, with the experience of Rai and Das, all eyes will be on the women’s team, where Aditi Jaiswal will be competing in her second World Cup.
The biggest name missed in the combined event was top-ranked Indian Abhishek Verma (world No. 13), a five-time World Cup gold medalist and former World Championships silver medalist.
The men’s and women’s sections of the multiple district each had two newcomers — Rishabh Yadav, Ojas Deotale, Aditi Swamy and Sakshi Choudhary.
“Juniors are coming and doing well. They have passed a rigorous two-stage trial in Kolkata and Sonipat. We hope they will come out strong,” Singh said.
“We want to see how they overcome their anxiety. A good start (in qualifying) will prepare them,” Singh added.
team:
Recurve Men: B Dhiraj, Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai, Neeraj Chauhan; Recurve Women: Bhajan Kaur, Aditi Jaiswal, Ankita Bhakat, Simranjit Kaur; Composite Men: Prathmesh Jawhar, Rajat Chauhan, Ojas Deotale, Rishab Yadav; Composite Women : Avneet Kaur, V Jyothi Surekha, Aditi Swamy, Sakshi Choudhary.
