Parineetha, Dola qualify for Olympics

Seventeen-year-old archer Vardhineni Praneetha of Steel Plants made the cut for the Beijing Olympics, topping the selection trials at the SAI Netaji Subhas Eastern Centre in Kolkata on Sunday.

Pranitha proved equal to the challenge posed by veterans Dola Banerjee and Reena Kumari in the rigorous four-day selection trial.

It will be Dola's second Olympics. She and Praneetha will join L Bombayla Devi in the women's recurve team event at the quadrennial extravaganza.

Railways archer Bombayla had already qualified for the Olympics in the women's recurve individual event after finishing 32nd in the Outdoor Archery World Championship in Leipzig, Germany, last year.

Bombayla's performance was also enough for her to qualify for the women's recurve team event.

Meanwhile, Mangal Singh Champia of the Mittal Champions Trust will be India's sole representative in the men's recurve section.

Champia clinched a Beijing berth after winning silver in the Continental qualification tournament that followed the main event, the Asian Archery Championship in Xi'an, China, last September.