The Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) high-performance director Sanjeeva Singh is confident over the Indian archery team‘s medal chances in Paris Olympics. The official’s statement comes amid the raging debate over Korean coach Baek Woong Ki being denied accreditation for the event. The foreign coach lashed out at the Indian Olympic Association following his failure to secure a ticket for the event and blamed the body for ‘poor and hasty administration’.
India archery team head to Paris Olympics without coach
Dhiraj Bommadevara, Pravin Jadhav, Tarundeep Rai, Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur and Ankita Bhakat are the six Indian archers who have qualified for the Paris Olympics. As per PTI, SAI HPD Sanjeeva Singh has expressed confidence in the Indian team bringing back three medals.
Korean coach disappointed with sudden snub
Coach Woong Ki reacted sharply to his removal right before the event in Paris. Having guided South Korea to two medals in 2012, the Korean was appointed India’s coach couple of years ago. He further claimed that his presence at the Paris Olympics would boost the prospects for the Indian teams to win medals.
“I am a Korean coach who signed a contract to prepare (the Indian archers) for the Paris Olympics. But at a critical time, I was removed from the Olympic coaching role and my flight schedule told me to return home,” the renowned coach told PTI.
“I have been training them (Indian archers) for two years to win a medal at the Paris Olympics. However, foreign coaches were excluded due to the IOA’s poor and hasty administration. I don’t know why they invested money to appoint a Korean coach. More importantly, it’s hitting a major notch just days before the Olympics,” said Woong Ki.