‘Olympic medal not an absurd dream for India’

There is no reason why players cannot return with a medal from Beijing Olympic, says top woman archer Dola Banerjee.

The Indians have done reasonably well at the Asian and world level tournaments and, with a pinch of luck, there is no reason why they cannot return with a medal from the Beijing Olympic Games as well, reckons country’s top woman archer Dola Banerjee.

Dola admits luck would play a crucial role when she and her teammates turn up at Beijing’s Olympic Green Archery Field but the double World Cup gold medallist believes they would go there with reasonable chances of winning a medal.

“There is no reason why we cannot. There is no dearth of talent and we have done really well in the Asian and World level tournaments. So I feel chances are high,” Dola told PTI from Kolkata.

Story continues below this ad

The Arjuna awardee said more than the opponents, everything would depend on how she fares on that particular day.

“Russia, Korea, China, Italy — they all are very tough competitors. However, it depends on that particular day, that moment. One bad shot can badly hurt you, besides boosting the confidence of your opponents. Even a low ranking player can upset high rankers.

“Skill, a little bit of luck and you can win a medal,” she said.

And technically too, Indians are not inferiors anymore, she asserted.

Story continues below this ad

“We don’t lag behind in technique or quality of arrows or training. Our Korean coach (Lim Chae-Woong) is really very experienced and helps us analyse our game and gives proper tips and feedbacks,” she said.