Karma (archer)

Lore & Background

Karma was born on 6 June 1990 in Tsenkharla, Trashiyangtse District, Bhutan. She took up archery in April 2009, having been a runner in school. Her first international competition was in 2012, and by 2018 she had competed in at least eight international events. She competed in the individual recurve and team recurve events at the 2013 and 2015 World Archery Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she was defeated in the first round by Tuyana Dashidorzhieva of Russia. She served as flag-bearer for Bhutan during the Parade of Nations at both the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2019 South Asian Games in Pokhara, she won bronze in the women's individual recurve and helped her team win bronze in the team recurve event. While practicing for the Tokyo Olympics in May 2021, Karma performed a 'Robin Hood' shot, splitting an arrow already in the target board.

Reader's Guide

Karma is notable as the first athlete from Bhutan to receive a place in the Olympic quota allocation system in any sport, and the first female from Bhutan to qualify for the Olympic Games. She earned her spot at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo by qualifying via the 2018 Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. At the 2020 Olympics, she lost to Deepika Kumari of India 6–0 in the round of 64. Karma stated that qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics had been her biggest dream as well as an achievement for her country. Her two bronze medals at the 2019 South Asian Games represent the only international medals recorded for her career. Her role as flag-bearer for Bhutan at two consecutive Olympic opening ceremonies underscores her prominence in Bhutanese sport.

Did You Know?

• Karma was flag-bearer for Bhutan at both the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies.
• She won bronze medals in both the individual and team recurve events at the 2019 South Asian Games.