Baek Woong Ki was initially employed by Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sonipat's Centre of Excellence, and has been awarded a contract through the Olympics.
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India’s archery squad has engaged Olympic gold medalist coach Baek Woong Ki to work with the recurve team, providing a significant boost to the sport in the country ahead of the Paris Olympics in 2024. Woong Ki will start his time in India with the season-opening World Cup Stage 1, which is scheduled to take place in Antalya, Turkey from April 18 and last until April 23, 2023. Woong Ki headed his nation’s double gold medal-winning performance in the women’s individual and team divisions at the London Olympics 2012. Sergio Pagni, the two-time World Cup champion from Italy, has also been recruited by the Archery Association of India (AAI) to travel with the compound team for the World Cup in Turkey.
Since the Asian Games in 2014, India has not employed a foreign coach before. Baek Woong Ki was initially employed by Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sonipat’s Centre of Excellence, and has been awarded a contract through the Olympics. Former world champion Pagni, 44, has been working with the compound squad since 2018 when he organized a training session for the Asian Games. Sanjeeva Singh, Indian archery high-performance director, and Dronacharya Awardee said, “He [Woong Ki]has been made India’s recurve coach and will be till Asian Games and then the Olympics.” Singh added, “His familiarity and experience with Indian archers made him an automatic choice.”
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Baek Woong Ki and Sergio Pagni‘s first significant test will come in the upcoming World Cup because India will be fielding a new-look group that is primarily made up of youth players. Big stars who didn’t make it to the team include Deepika Kumari, Riddhi Phor, and Komalika Bari, which will impact the Indian squad. The Indian team features several fresh faces, except for the trio of the compound archer and World Championships silver medallist Jyothi Surekha Vennam, two-time Olympian Atanu Das, and the 2010 Asian Games silver medalist Tarundeep Rai.
The spotlight will be on the high-profile Korean, Baek Woong Ki, as he attempts to bring out the best in the Indian team. The recurve men’s team will be the most anticipated, relying on Rai and Das’s expertise. India’s recurve archer Aditi Jaiswal will be playing her second World Cup. On being asked about Woong Ki, ace archer Deepika Kumari said, “I’ve met Woong Ki during the trials in Kolkata, he was part of the CoE and looked full of energy and positive vibes. I’m looking forward to a good show.”
The top-ranked Indian, five-time World Cup gold medalist, and previous World Championship silver medalist Abhishek Verma is the biggest name to be left out of the compound division. Rishabh Yadav, Ojas Deotale, Aditi Swamy, and Sakshi Choudhary will make their debuts in the men’s and women’s compound categories, respectively. “The juniors are upcoming and doing well. They have come through a rigorous two-phase trial in Kolkata and Sonipat. We expect them to come out strongly,” said Singh. “We want to see how they overcome anxiety pangs. A good start (in the qualification) will set them up,” Singh added.
