Explained: Recurve event in archery and Indians who can win medals at Tokyo Olympics

The archery event at the Olympics took place for the first time in 1900. After being removed from the games for a few editions, archery found its way back into the Olympics in 1972 in Munich. The discipline of archery featuring in the Olympics has always been the recurve.

What is recurve in archery?

The name of this event is derived from the shape of the bow that is used by the archers. The bow's upper and lower limbs curve away from the archer, thus giving the name 're-curve'. The traditional bow, the one with the limbs that do not curve back, is called a compound bow. However, the method of shooting an arrow with both the bows remains the same.

The competition of recurve archery requires the archers to shoot their arrows at a target from a distance of 70 meters. The target - a circular ring - is 122 centimeters in diameter and consists of 10 rings within it.

In the qualification phase, the archers shoot a total of 72 arrows and qualify for the finals based on their aggregate score. In the final, the archers go head-to-head in individual match-ups until there is a clear winner in the end.

Indian medal prospects at the Tokyo Olympics 2020

The Indian archery team will head to Tokyo on the back of a successful campaign at the Archery World Cup in Paris. Veterans of the sport Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari secured gold medals for India in their respective events.

For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Indian contingent has managed to qualify for four of the five events. These are the men's individual, women's individual, men's team, and mixed team events.

India will be the firm favorites for the women's individual event. Deepika Kumari will participate in her third Olympics and will go into the competition ranked No.1 in the world after securing 3 medals at the World Cup Stage III in Paris. Some tough competitors for Deepika to overcome will be the Korean duo of Kang Chae Young and An San, as well as the French world No.2 Lisa Barbelin.

In the men's recurve event, India's Atanu Das - the world No.9 - will have the advantage of good form on his side and might have an outside chance to secure a podium place. However, overcoming the likes of Rio Olympic bronze medallist and world No.1 Brady Ellison and Mete Gazoz will be a tough ask for the Indian.

India also has a chance to grab a podium finish in the mixed team event, with the pair of Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari having played with each other for almost a decade now. The pair, currently ranked No.4 in the world, will face a stern test against teams from Korea, Mexico and the Netherlands.

Deepika and Atanu make a great team. ❤️#ArcheryatTokyo pic.twitter.com/5m895VsizA

— World Archery (@worldarchery) July 2, 2021

The Indian archery team will be in action at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 from the 23rd of July, with Deepika Kumari starting proceedings in the women's individual event.