Rio Olympics 2016: India begin campaign with archery, here’s all you need to know

Which sport will Team India compete in on Day 1 of Rio? The archery events will be kick starting the Olympics for the Indian contingent, even before the official opening ceremony of the Games on Friday. How many members does the archery contingent have? The Indian archery squad comprises three female archers – Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Bombayla Devi as well as sole male archer, Atanu Das. [caption id=“attachment_2937114” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  File photo of Deepika Kumari. AFP[/caption] Which events will these athletes participate in today? Team India will be represented in the men’s individual, women’s individual and women’s team events in Archery. Here are the events that the respective athletes will participate in: Atanu Das : Men’s individual Deepika Kumari : Women’s individual and team Laxmirani Majhi : Women’s individual and team Bombayla Devi : Women’s individual and team [caption id=“attachment_2937120” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  File photo of Atanu Das. Getty Images[/caption] What time will these events happen? The men’s individual event will begin at 5.30 pm IST on Friday. The women’s individual event and team will begin from 9.30 pm IST on Friday. Will we see the archers in the opening ceremony happening today? Unfortunately, the team will be skipping the opening ceremony, focusing their energies on giving their 100 percent on the first day of their tournament. [caption id=“attachment_2937130” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  File photo of Bombayla Devi. Youtube screenshot[/caption] What are the medal prospects of our nation’s archery squad? After their unsatisfactory performance in the 2012 London Olympics, the archery squad will be looking for redemption this time. Deepika Kumari is the prodigal daughter of Indian archery, and is one of the big medal hopes for India. For Bombayla Devi Laishram, this Olympic gains even more importance as it will be her last attempt at a medal. The women’s team is currently ranked fourth, and stand a chance at a podium finish, if they step up their game. Olympic debutants Atanu Das and Laxmirani Majhi can also spring a surprise. [caption id=“attachment_2937128” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  File photo of Laxmirani Majhi. News18[/caption] How do I show my support for Team India and the archery squad? #Rio2016 will be the major hashtag for the Olympics on Twitter and there are four main accounts which users can also follow: @Olympics, @OlympicFlame, @Rio2016 and @Rio2016_en. Mini icons have been made for the special events and ceremonies of the quadrennial event as well. The hashtag #Archery will also give a special mini icon on the social media network. Google  has added some new features in its Search app to bring the latest updates from Rio Olympics 2016 to you. Facebook and Instagram to provide unique Olympics 2016 content to users on these platforms. So don’t forget to cheer for the archery squad and Team India!