Deepika, Tarundeep Eye Bigger 2030 CWG, Hopeful for Archery's Return

Elite Indian recurve archers Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai are optimistic about archery's inclusion when India hosts the Games again. In 2010, during India's last hosting, 17 disciplines were featured, with the host nation earning a notable number of medals: 30 in shooting, 19 in wrestling, 8 in archery, and 4 in badminton.

Deepika, who secured India's inaugural women's individual recurve gold at the 2010 Delhi Games, reflected on how this milestone influenced her career and boosted the sport's popularity.

"2010 Commonwealth Games was a huge kick in my career as a 16-year-old became a champion in a discipline not so popular. I didn't understand the value of the achievement at that time but in my opinion archery received a huge boost due to that. A lot of Indians got to know about the sport of archery after my accomplishments in the Commonwealth Games. Apart from that, Indian citizens also got educated about many disciplines which they could witness from close quarters as the country staged the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi," Deepika told SAI Media on the sidelines of the NTPC National Ranking Archery Tournament.

Deepika is confident that the upcoming Games will exceed past standards. "The way we had organised CWG in 2010, I believe it will be bigger and better in 2030 and archery makes a return then. We archers haven't competed in the multi-nation event since the Delhi edition and hopefully archery makes a comeback," the 31-year-old added.

Tarundeep Rai, who won bronze in the men's recurve team event at CWG 2010, emphasized how hosting major events can boost grassroots participation and improve infrastructure over the long term. As a three-time Olympian aiming for a medal at Los Angeles 2028, he also pointed out the rapid growth of archery in India.

"2010 Commonwealth Games was a very exciting moment for me. I witnessed a huge transformation in the archery community thereafter. There were changes in terms of infrastructure and individual strength in terms of skills and knowledge. At that time we had around 400 archers in the country now the number has swelled to more than 30,000 active archers. There are 100 archers who can make it to the Indian team on any given day due to their consistency and form, which is a huge difference after 2010 CWG," Tarundeep said.

"India is set to host the CWG in 2030 which is a very happy moment for all Indian sportspersons like me. I feel if India could host an event of this magnitude or stature every five or 10 years that will make a huge difference to the sports ecosystem. Due to the staging of CWG in 2030 a lot of new talent, new kids will pick up sports as a career," he added.

Olympian and Asian and Commonwealth Games medallist Jayanta Talukdar also shared his optimism about India's prospects in future performances.

"A lot of new academies and players got added after 2010 CWG as parents saw that we had won a lot of medals in archery. The Archery Association of India and players started getting a lot of sponsors. So, the graph of Indian archery only improved after that. We will be hosting the 2030 CWG and I am confident that our performance will be great whether it is recurve or compound as there is a lot of motivation when you are competing in front of your home crowd. Also, many top archers like me are already mentoring or coaching a lot of young archers who will be ready to take on the world by then," Talukdar said.

- IANS