Bhutan at the 2012 Summer Olympics
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Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
competed at the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This marked the nation's eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
, and the first in which the nation competed in a sport other than archery. The Bhutanese delegation included archer
Sherab Zam Sherab Zam (10 October 1983) is a Bhutanese archer. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics at the Women's individual event. Also, she was selected to be Bhutan's flag-bearer at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She is coached by Tshering Chhoden w ...
and shooter
Kunzang Choden Kunzang Choden (; born 1952) is a Bhutanese writer. She is the first Bhutanese woman to write a novel in English. Choden was born in Bumthang District. Her parents were feudal landlords. At the age of nine, her father sent her to school in In ...
. Zam was the
flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...
for both the
opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...
and
closing ceremonies Closing may refer to: Business and law * Closing (law), a closing argument, a summation * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction * Closing (sales), the process of making a sale * Closing a business, the proc ...
. Neither of Bhutan's athletes progressed beyond the first round of their events. Bhutan was one of only two countries to have a female-only team at the 2012 Games.


Background

Bhutan, a country in
Southern Asia Southern Asia may refer to: * South Asia, a geopolitical macroregion of SAARC countries * Southern Asia, a geographical subregion in Asia spanning the Iranian Plateau and the Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the phy ...
, participated in eight Summer Olympic games between its debut in the 1984 Summer Olympics in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, United States and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, The highest number of Bhutanese athletes participating in a summer games is six in both the 1984 Summer Olympics and the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain. , no Bhutanese athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympics. Two athletes from Bhutan qualified for the London games; Sherab Zam in the women's individual archery competition and Kunzang Choden in the women's 10-metre air rifle. Zam qualified after receiving a wild-card place from the Tripartite Commission. Choden also received a wild-card place for her entry. The two athletes were accompanied by their coaches; Tshering Choden for Zam and Dorji Phurba for Choden; as well as several
Bhutan Olympic Committee The Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) was created on 23 November 1983 with the 4th Druk Gyalpo, King of Bhutan as its President, with its headquarters at Thimphu, Bhutan. Following this recognition, Bhutan participated for the first time in the 1984 ...
officials. Bhutan, along with
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
, was one of only two nations with only female athletes at the 2012 games.


Archery

The 2012 Summer Games marked Sherab Zam's Olympic debut. She was the flag bearer at both the opening and closing ceremonies. She qualified for the individual archery competition after receiving a wildcard from the Tripartite Commission. In an interview with
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
before the games Zam said that "Participation is more important than winning a medal." Zam spent time in South Korea and India preparing for the games. The archery events at the 2012 games were held at the
Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
. Zam competed on 27 July in the ranking round, finishing 61st out of 64 competitors with 589 points. She scored 82 points less than the leading competitor,
Ki Bo-bae Ki Bo-bae (Hangul: 기보배; or ; born February 20, 1988) is a South Korean recurve archer and three-time Olympic gold medalist. She was the winner of the women's team and women's individual events at the 2012 Summer Olympics and of the wom ...
of
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. Zam competed against
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
Khatuna Lorig Khatuna Lorig (; born January 1, 1974, as Khatuna Kvrivishvili, ka, ხათუნა ქვრივიშვილი) is a Georgian archer who immigrated to the United States. She has used at least 3 different last names while competing i ...
, the fourth ranking athlete in the ranking round, in the round of 64. Lorig beat Zam three sets to none in about six minutes. This meant Zam was eliminated from the competition. After the games Zam said: "I am not that good at archery but I love it. It was so good to meet world ranking archers who are famous and to watch how they do it. I have learnt a lot from them," and that, "When I grew up I never dreamt I would come to London, let alone compete in an Olympics. This just shows that anything is possible. The Olympics is great for that."


Shooting

Kunzang Choden Kunzang Choden (; born 1952) is a Bhutanese writer. She is the first Bhutanese woman to write a novel in English. Choden was born in Bumthang District. Her parents were feudal landlords. At the age of nine, her father sent her to school in In ...
also made her Olympic debut at the 2012 games. She qualified for the 10-metre air rifle event after receiving a wild card from the Tripartite Commission. Before the games Choden said that, "Bhutan is just a small country of just 700,000. There is a lot of pressure on us but we must be realistic about our chances. We just want to do well." Choden spent time in Germany and Bangladesh preparing for the games. On 28 July Choden competed in the qualification round of her event. She finished 56th out of 56 athletes with a score of 381 points. She scored 18 points less the two equal highest scoring athlete,
Sylwia Bogacka Sylwia Katarzyna Bogacka (born October 3, 1981) is a Polish sports shooter. Bogacka was born in Jelenia Góra, Poland. Bogacka studied sociology at the University of Zielona Góra. She first competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Four years late ...
of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and Yi Siling of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Choden scored 16 points less than
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...
Kateřina Emmons Kateřina Emmons (also Emmonsová), née Kůrková (; born 17 November 1983) is a Czech sport shooter who won three Olympic medals. She competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she wo ...
who was the lowest scoring qualifier for the final and therefore her competition ended at the qualifying round. In an interview with Reuters after the games Choden said: "I really enjoyed it. Now we can see how hard we need to work to be really good."


References

{{Country at games navbox, Bhutan, Summer Olympics Nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
2012 in Bhutanese sport