Indian teams for archery at Lord's

Date released: 1 August 2007

Six world-class Indian archers have been selected to compete, on Monday 6th August, in the first-ever international archery tournament at Lord's.

India's men's team includes Tarundeep Rai, the winner of 2004's Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok, while its women's side features Dola Banerjee, who won 2006's Commonwealth Archery Championships in New Delhi.

While its archers are already very accomplished, India's selectors have opted for youthful line-ups for Monday's event - The npower International Archery Challenge, for The MCC Cup - with a view to 2012's Olympics, when the archery competition will be staged at Lord's. Its teams are:

• Men's team: Tarundeep Rai (23); Rahul Banerjee (20); and Somai Murmu (24).

• Women's team: Dola Banerjee (27); Chekrovolu Swuro (24); and Bombayla Devi (22).

They will be competing against strong sides from China and Great Britain, with the British women's team including Alison Williamson - a bronze medallist at 2004's Athens Olympics.

MCC's Keith Bradshaw MCC's Secretary & Chief Executive, Keith Bradshaw, said: "We're looking forward to welcoming all the archers to Lord's for this truly historic event, which is being sponsored by npower. It's the first international archery tournament to be staged at Lord's in the ground's very long and distinguished history."

He continued: "The Indian community always gives its cricketers truly tremendous support; we hope its archers will be very well-supported, too. Monday's tournament will be a great opportunity for all the archers - from China, Great Britain and India - to gain some invaluable experience of competing at Lord's in advance of the London Olympics in 2012."

There will be free admission to Lord's for Monday's event. The gates to the ground will open at 9.00am; the archers' practice session will begin at 9.30am; and the tournament itself will last from 10.00am to noon. (As the archers will be competing over a full 70-metre distance, spectators are urged to bring binoculars with them.)

Two MCC Cups have been commissioned - one for the victorious men's team, another for the successful women's side.