Tarundeep Rai (born 22 February 1984)[1] is an Indian archer from Sikkim.[2][3] He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 by the Government of India for his contribution to sports. He is a three time Olympian.
Early life
editRai was born in Namchi, Sikkim, India. He is supported by a sports NGO, Olympic Gold Quest.[2]
Career
edit
Rai made his international debut in 2003 at the age of 19 years at the Asian Archery Championship 2003 held at Yangon, Myanmar.[4] He won India's maiden individual silver medal at the 16th Asian Games on 24 November 2010 in Guangzhou, China.[5][6]
Earlier, he was also a member of the Indian team that won a bronze medal at the 15th Asian Games in Doha in 2006.[4]
He became an Olympian taking part in the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he was placed 32nd in the men's individual ranking round with a 72-arrow score of 647.[4] He faced Alexandros Karageorgiou of Greece in the first elimination round and lost 147-143. His final rank was 43. He was also a member of the Indian men's archery team that was place 11th at the 2004 Olympics.
Injury
editHe was out of action for two years in 2007 and 2008 due to a career-threatening shoulder injury.[7] He won a silver medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in the individual event.[8]
London Olympics
editRai was part of Indian men's recurve team at the 2012 London Olympics.[9] after India took third place in the qualification round at Ogden, US in 2012.[10]
He was a part of the Indian archery team that finished 4th at the 2003 World Championship in New York City.[4] His was also part of the Indian team that won silver medal at the 2005 World Championship in Madrid, Spain. He also became the first Indian to make it to the semifinal round of the World Archery Championship in 2005 where he narrowly lost to Won Jong Choi of South Korea by 106-112 for the bronze medal play-off.[4]
He won three gold medals at South Asian Games in Guwahati and Shillong.[11]
Tokyo Olympics
editRai along with Atanu Das and Praveen Jadhav won a quota place and took part in Tokyo Olympics.[12] Due to lockdown, he trained at ASI campus.[13][14] He reduced 14 kg in six months.[15][16] He was part of the Indian team that defeated Kazakhstan in round of 16 in the men's team event. Later, they lost to Republic of Korea in the quarterfinals. In the individual event, he defeated Oleksii Hunbin of Ukraine 6-4 in the 1st round but lost to Itay Shanny of Israel in Round 2 in a one arrow shoot-off.
Paris Olympics
editRai is selected to take part in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games at Paris in both individual and team events. He lost to Tom Hall of England in 1/32 eliminations in the individual match.
Awards
edit- He received Arjuna Award in 2005.[17]
- He received Padma Shri in 2020.[18]
- In October 2023, ICFAI University in Sikkim conferred the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in recognition of his efforts in archery.
References
edit- ^ "Tarundeep Rai – Archery – Olympic Athlete". 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Tarundeep Rai in good form". The Hindu. 23 June 2005. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ "Tarundeep Rai withdraws". The Hindu. 17 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 June 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Tarundeep Rai Profile". iloveindia.com. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ "Tarundeep Rai creates history at Asian Games". The Times of India. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
- ^ S. Kannan (25 November 2010). "Rai wins silver and scripts history". India Today. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ Tushar Bhaduri (14 July 2012). "Tarundeep Rai makes comeback for London Olympics". India Today. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ Dola Banerjee (31 July 2012). "London Olympics: Moment of pride for India and the archers". India Today. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ "Indian archery team books Olympic ticket". 23 June 2012.
- ^ "London 2012: Indian archers ranked 3rd for qualifying round". India Today. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ Sudeer Mahavaadi (22 February 2016). "Exclusive: Star archer Tarundeep Rai eyes Olympic glory after rich haul at South Asian Games". India Today. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ Stanley, John (12 June 2019). "Indian men upset Canada to qualify three places for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". World Archery. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ Scroll Staff (4 April 2020). "Archer Tarundeep Rai using lockdown time to build shoulder muscles, stay in shape for Tokyo Olympics". Scroll.in. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Bonding in isolation: Archers Tarundeep and Pravin stay sharp amid lockdown". ESPN. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "'I lost 14 kgs in six months' - Veteran Indian archer Tarundeep Rai targets Tokyo medal after gruelling fitness journey". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Tarundeep Rai: I need to win medal at Tokyo Olympics so I can meet my son's gaze". Firstpost. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Pankaj Advani named for Khel Ratna". The Hindu. 18 August 2006. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Padma Awards: 2020" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 25 January 2020. pp. 2–6. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
External links
edit- Tarundeep Rai at World Archery
- Tarundeep Rai at Olympedia
- Tarundeep Rai at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
- Ready, Aim, Aspire... (archived)
