'It's a now-or-never situation for me': Tarundeep Rai

Its a nowornever situation for me says veteran Indian archer Tarundeep Rai as he seeks to win a maiden Olympic medal in his fourth appearance at the Paris Olympics 2024 while also serving as the teams unofficial mentorThe 40yearold Rai has won medals in every championships at the global and continental level but not the OlympicsHe has two silver at the World Championships 2005 2019 nine World Cup medals including three gold a silver and a bronze in Asian Games two silver and a bronze in Asian ChampionshipsIts emotional every day Its the fourth time Its a nowornever situation for me and thats what I tell my teammates too Maybe someone playing his first or second Olympics should think like its now or never You have to put in an effort as if its going to be your last Rai told PTI in an interviewThe veteran archer from Sikkim was part of the Indian teams at the 2004 Athens 2012 London and 2021 Tokyo Olympics He exited in the first round in the individual event in Athens and in the second round in both 2012 and 2021 editionsIn Tokyo the mens team which had Tarundeep Rai in it its ranks reached the quarterfinalsOlympics is a dream for everyone and Im no different You need an extreme level of preparation for this and you have to put in a lot of hard work to qualify and win a medal The colour of your sweat sometimes turns red Rai said ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024This Olympics Im playing with a threeyear gap Positive sign Many changes Tokyo whatever I lacked the objective is to rectify Will do my best said Rai who hails from Namchi in SikkimAlso ReadAustralia ready to pounce as USA bid to shore up Olympic swimming dominanceMore or less regular at the Olympics since debuting back in 1988 the Indian archers will be aiming to fetch their maiden medal as they began the countrys campaign here on Thursday with the qualification roundsThere are always expectations We had the potential to win but for small margins we have returned emptyhanded Rai ruedWe have kept that in control this time Coaches management players mentality we have kept that in check Everyone is in their best formFor the first time since London 2012 India will have a full sixmember squad after both the mens and womens teams qualified on the basis of rankings This means they will compete in all the five eventsRai failed to make it to the Hangzhou Asian Games last year and said it was a wakeup call for himYes the Asian Games was a realization period and gave me a lot of positive vibes If that did not happen maybe I would not have made it to my fourth Olympics and reached hereThat shock made me aware of my weaknesses and what I needed to work on I took that positively and worked on itRai said he has set up an academy in Sikkim to pass on his knowledge to the future generationCoaching or not you have to give something back to the sport This is one thing we have lacked Transfer of technique transfer of experience Senior archers leaving should come back This gap we have to fill upI dont want my 28 years of experience to go waste sitting idle at home The AAI should also think about it An experienced person in the coaching field can give a youngster that experience Its about giving back We have to fill that gap I want to contribute to Indian archery in the futureWith agency inputs