Tarundeep Rai (born 22 February 1984) is an Indian archer from Sikkim. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 by the Government of India for his contribution to sports. He is a three time Olympian.

Early life

Rai was born in Namchi, Sikkim, India. He is supported by a sports NGO, Olympic Gold Quest.

Earlier, he was also a member of the Indian team that won a bronze medal at the 15th Asian Games in Doha in 2006. He faced Alexandros Karageorgiou of Greece in the first elimination round and lost 147-143. His final rank was 43. He was also a member of the Indian men's archery team that was place 11th at the 2004 Olympics.

Injury

He was out of action for two years in 2007 and 2008 due to a career-threatening shoulder injury. He won a silver medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in the individual event.

London Olympics

Rai was part of Indian men's recurve team at the 2012 London Olympics. after India took third place in the qualification round at Ogden, US in 2012.

He was a part of the Indian archery team that finished 4th at the 2003 World Championship in New York City.

Tokyo Olympics

Rai along with Atanu Das and Praveen Jadhav won a quota place and took part in Tokyo Olympics. Due to lockdown, he trained at ASI campus. He reduced 14 kg in six months. He was part of the Indian team that defeated Kazakhstan in round of 16 in the men's team event. Later, they lost to Republic of Korea in the quarterfinals. In the individual event, he defeated Oleksii Hunbin of Ukraine 6-4 in the 1st round but lost to Itay Shanny of Israel in Round 2 in a one arrow shoot-off.

Paris Olympics

Rai was selected to take part in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games at Paris in both individual and team events. He lost to Tom Hall of England in 1/32 eliminations in the individual match.

Awards

  • He received Arjuna Award in 2005.
  • He received Padma Shri in 2020.
  • In October 2023, ICFAI University in Sikkim conferred the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in recognition of his efforts in archery.

References

  • Ready, Aim, Aspire... (archived)