Hopefully, travel restrictions will be lifted before the Archery World Cup, states AAI

Even though India is already set to field their strongest contingent in Archery at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the women’s recurve team is also expected to join the squad. The trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari are aiming to qualify for the showpiece event during the upcoming World Cup Stage 3, to be held in June.

However, with the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in India and the travel restrictions imposed, the Indian archers were in a dilemma whether they would actually make it to the event, in Paris. However, the Archery Association of India (AAI) are hopeful that the travel restrictions would be lifted by the time the World Cup gets underway.

"I don't think that it will continue. Hopefully, the restrictions will be lifted. We will take a call depending on the situation. We will provide them full support and there will be no let-up in our preparation for the Olympics. We will make a collective decision depending on the situation (before the Stage 3 World Cup),” said Arjun Munda, president of AAI.

The Indian women’s team remain one of the major medal prospects, which makes the qualification all the more important. However, a World Archery official stated that there would be no change in the plan for the Olympic trials, while India would miss out on a women’s team quota in case of non-participation.