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Tarundeep Rai was born on February 22, 1984, at Namchi in South Sikkim. A distant cousin of star Indian footballer Baichung Bhutia, Tarundeep got hooked to archery when he saw a group of young men practicing traditional blind archery at his native place.
Tarundeep tasted international success early when he lifted the individual gold medal in the 2004 Asian Grand Prix Archery Championship at Bangkok, defeating Lee Seung Young of Korea. More success followed when Rai helped the Indian team finish a creditable fourth in the 2003 World Archery Championship in New York, thus earning India a place in the team event of 2004 Athens Games.
At the 2005 Madrid World Championship, Indian men clinched the silver medal riding on a stellar performance by Tarundeep Rai who finished fourth in a field of 143.
Tarundeep Rai has been awarded the Arjuna Award for the year 2005.
