 "Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat: Meet the Indian archers who made history by reaching mixed team semis in Paris Olympics")
Archers Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat went down to United States of America in India’s mixed team archery bronze medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday. The Indian duo had made the semi-finals with a 5-3 win over Spain on Friday, but later on the same day, they lost to South Korea with a 2-6 margin. Dhiraj and Ankita had to beat USA to clinch a bronze medal, but ended up losing to the Americans with a 2-6 scoreline
Who are Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat? Here’s all you need to know about the two Indian archers:
Who is Dhiraj Bommadevara?
Dhiraj Bommadevara was born on 4 September, 2001 in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. He began his archery journey in 2006 when he joined the Volga Archery Academy in Vijayawada. In 2016, he shifted to Pune where he joined the Army Sports Institute for advanced training.
Bommadevara Shravan Kumar, Dhiraj’s father, was a technical official at the Archery Association of India. Since making his international debut in 2017, Dhiraj has represented India in several tournaments, including the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. At the Asian Games, Dhiraj was part of the Indian men’s recurve team that consisted of himself, Atanu Das and Tushar Shelke. The trio won silver medal after going down to Korea in the final.
Dhiraj, ranked 12th in the world currently, has won four gold, 10 silver and three bronze medals till date. Dhiraj is employed as a Subedar in the Indian Army. Since 2018, Dhiraj has been a Khelo India Scholarship athlete. He then went onto become a Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athlete.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhat are Dhiraj Bommadevara’s achievements?
—World Cup 2024: 1 Gold (Team - 2024) 1 Bronze (Team- 2024)
—World Cup Stage: 1 Silver (Team - 2023), 3 Bronze (Individual - 2023; Team - 2023, 2023)
—Asian Games 2022: 1 Silver (Team)
—World Archery Youth Championships: 1 Gold (Team - 2021)
—Baghdad 2024 Asia cup leg 1- 1 gold (2024) Antalya 2023 Hyundai archery world cup stage 1- 1 bronze (team- 2023)
How has the government funded him?
Dhiraj Bommadevara has been supported well by the Sports Ministry. In December 2023, he received financial assistance of Rs 8,96,400 in order to train at the Kim Archery School in South Korea for 28 days along with his coach Sonam Tshering Bhutia.
The 22 year-old also received financial assistance from the government for procuring archery equipment in 2023 and 2024. That amounted for a cost of Rs 5,73, 930. In 2024, Dhiraj also received a financial assistance of Rs.7,53,032 for the purchase of separate physiotherapy equipment.
Dhiraj has also received Rs 29,16,222 and Rs.38,67,538 under the Khelo India scheme and TOPS respectively. Under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC), Dhiraj has received an assistance of 69,53,339.
Who is Ankita Bhakat?
Born on 17 June, 1998 in Kolkata, Ankit Bhakat kickstarted her journey in archery in 2014, joining the Calcutta Archery Club. She later switched to the Tata Archery Academy, which has helped her in developing her talents in a major way.
Having made her debut in the 2016 Asia Cup, winning gold at the team event at the 2019 World Archery Youth Championships and a bronze at the 2021 Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Guatemala City are among her major achievements. Till date, Ankita has won 15 medals that include four gold, three silver and eight bronze medals.
What are Ankita’s achievements?
World Cup Stage: 2 Gold (Team - 2021, 2021), 1 Silver (Team - 2022), 3 Bronze
(Team- 2023, 2022, 2021)
Asian Games: 1 Bronze (Team - 2023)
Asian Outdoor Championships:1 Silver (Team - 2021), 2 Bronze (Team - 2023, 2021)
How has the government funded her?
In 2022 and 2023, the government provided Ankita with a financial support of Rs 7,65,036 in order to procure archery equipment. In 2023, she was also assisted with a sum of Rs.6,750 for accomodation at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Sonepat for training purposes.
The Kolkata-born athlete has also received Rs 18,67,776 under the TOPS scheme and Rs 83,71,451 under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC).
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