Thinley Namgay

Bhutan’s archer Lam Dorji is scheduled to face Alessandro Paoli from Italy tomorrow in the recurve archery category at the ongoing Paris Olympics in France.

During the ranking round on July 25, Lam Dorji stood 28th out of 64 archers in this mega sporting event. He secured 663 points out of 720, one of his personal best so far in international tournaments, and an impressive feat for an Olympic debut.

As of July 22, the 28-year-old Lam Dorji ranks 178th in the world.

The upcoming game is expected to be challenging for him as his opponent, Alessandro Paoli, 24, ranks 54th in the world.

Alessandro Paoli has won 60 percent of the last 60 games he played, according to data from World Archery.    

Lam Dorji is determined to break his personal record of 644 points, which he secured during the tournament in Turkey last month.

From Samdrupjongkhar, Lam Dorji is one of the senior most Bhutanese recurve archers, having participated in 20 international tournaments. His Korean coach, Park Young Sook, is accompanying him at the Olympics.

Bhutanese archers have featured in every Olympics since the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Female archer Karma became the first Bhutanese archer to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Team Bhutan is represented by three athletes and three officials at the Summer Olympics in Paris that will end on August 11.

Swimmer Sangay Tenzin will compete in the men’s 100-metre freestyle category on July 31. It will mark his second Olympics competition following the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The 20-year-old Sangay Tenzin from Gelephu has been training since 2019, along with his friend Kinley Lhendup, at a swimming centre in Phuket, Thailand. He has been training alongside swimmers from more than 12 countries, with support from FINA, the International Swimming Federation.

Marathoner Kinzang Lhamo from Trashigang will contest in the 42km run on August 11. She is participating in the Olympics for the first time. This is also her maiden international competition.

For the last six months, Kinzang has been undergoing rigorous training in Thimphu with the help of the Bhutan Amateur Athletic Federation.

Around 10,500 athletes from 184 countries are taking part in the Paris Olympics. These athletes represent 206 National Olympic Committees. 

At 594 athletes, the United States has the largest presence at the Olympics. Trailing the U.S. is France, with 572 athletes, and Australia with 460 athletes. Four countries – Belize, Liechtenstein, Nauru, and Somalia –  have one athlete each to compete at the Olympics.

From the SAARC region, India has 110 participants, Nepal and Pakistan have seven each, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have six athletes each, and Bangladesh and the Maldives have five athletes each.

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