Road to Rio: Atanu Das, only male Indian archer at Olympics 2016, can spring a surprise

Name: Atanu Das Age: 24 Discipline: Archery Category: Men’s Recurve Qualification: Selected by the Archery Association of India after holding national trials Strengths: Das is a talented youngster who has edged out experienced competitors in the national trials. Armed with his international experience and his determination, he has the ability to spring a surprise at Rio. Past Olympic performance: Debut Past record: Gold medal in Recurve Men’s Individual, 2011 Asian Grand Prix in Bangladesh Gold medal in Recurve Mixed Team, 2011 Asian Grand Prix in Bangladesh Silver medal in Recurve Mixed Team, 2014 Archery World Cup in Poland Silver medal in Junior Men’s Team, 2011 World Archery Youth Championships in Poland Bronze medal in Recurve Mixed Team, 2013 Archery World Cup in Colombia Bronze medal in Recurve Men’s Team, 2013 Asian Archery Grand Prix in Thailand Rio Prospects: With a world ranking of 22, Atanu may not be best placed to bag a medal, but a spot in the final round could be a possible target. Being the lone Indian in the men’s singles category, a good spirited performance will be expected from the youngster. [caption id=“attachment_2897906” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Atanu Das will be India’s sole representative in the men’s singles category in Archey at 2016 Olympics. GettyImages[/caption] Atanu Das will be India’s only archer competing in the men’s singles event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Das overcame stern competition from some of India’s finest archers and former Olympians Jayanta Talukdar and Mangal Singh Champia in the national trials to book his Rio berth. Das took up archery in 2006 at the age of 14. A product of the Calcutta Archery Club, he moved to Tata Archery Academy in 2008 where he was coached under the likes of Dharmendra Tiwary and Korean Lim Chae Wong, according to Mail Today. He made his international debut two years later at 16. His first achievement of note as an archer came in 2010, when he won a gold medal at the 33rd Junior National Championships in the Boy’s team event. A year later he was part of the silver medal winning men’s team at the 2011 World Archery Championship Das is a right-handed archer and his arrows are 28" long while his draw weight is 37.5 lbs, according to his profile on WorldArchery.org. According to Das’ profile on Olympic Gold Quest, his father, who runs a hotel in Puri, wanted him to pursue sports. He chose Archery because he believed it was an individual discipline and he alone will be responsible for winning and losing. The youngster is currently working with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in Kolkata. The Kolkata-born archer has age by his side and his first experience of the Olympic Games at Rio will be an invaluable to him. Whether he is able to make a substantial mark or no, he is certain to come out of the Olympics a better player.