Dola unclear about her Olympic preparations

“Since I don’t know myself, I can’t tell you where and how I will be training for the August Games,” said Dola when asked about her training schedule. Her statement was a bit of a surprise, particularly after what Dola had said soon after bagging the world title.

“From now on, my target will be a medal in Beijing and I am confident of a podium finish,” she had thundered. But the question is, can she do that without proper training?

The ace archer, who was in the Capital on Sunday to participate in the 1000 days countdown for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games function, said she will be training with her coach in Jamshedpur. Though she is one of the chosen few to be among the Samsung scholarship under the aegis of the Indian Olympic Association, she hinted at inadequate funds for training abroad.

Elaborating further, Mukherjee added: “The archers, including Dola, will be participating in at least six international tournaments that include the series of world cups competition beginning from April. And six competitions should be enough in the preparatory phase for gaining competitive sharpness before the Games. There are two world cups in April, one in May and the last one will be in July.

“We are proposing no special training as the archers will be training under their respective coaches. Dola will be training at Jamshedpur (Tata Academy) where good facilities are available. Some top archers including Mangal Singh will be based in Bangalore,” he said.

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