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

Paris: It’s a “now-or-never situation for me”, says veteran Indian archer Tarundeep Rai as he seeks to win a maiden Olympic medal in his fourth appearance at the Games while also serving as the team’s unofficial mentor in Paris.

The 40-year-old Rai has won medals in every championships at the global and continental level but not the Olympics.

He 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 Championships.

“It’s emotional every day. It’s the fourth time. It’s a now-or-never situation for me, and that’s what I tell my teammates too. Maybe someone playing his first or second Olympics should think like it’s now or never. You have to put in an effort as if it’s going to be your last,” Rai told PTI in an interview.

The 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 editions.