| Bhutan at the 2020 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | BHU |
| NOC | Bhutan Olympic Committee |
| Website | bhutanolympiccommittee |
| inTokyo, Japan 23 July 2021 (2021-07-23) – 8 August 2021 (2021-08-08) | |
| Competitors | 4 in 4 sports |
| Flag bearers (opening) | Karma Sangay Tenzin |
| Flag bearer (closing) | Sangay Tenzin |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Bhutan competed at the2020 Summer Olympics inTokyo, Japan, from 23 July to 8 August 2021, it was the nation's tenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in1984. The delegation consisted of four athletes competing in four sports; archery, judo, shooting, and swimming. Bhutan did not win any medals during the Tokyo Olympics.Karma, an archer, andSangay Tenzin, a swimmer, served as the team's flagbearers in theopening ceremony, while Tenzin was the sole flagbearer in theclosing ceremony.
Karma lost toDeepika Kumari in the Round of 64 of thewomen's individual recurve archery. She lost 0–6 failing to advanced to the Round of 32. Competing in themen's –60 kg judo event,Ngawang Namgyel lost toMihraç Akkuş through ajuji-gatame. He lost in 2:56 minutes. On 24 July,Lenchu Kunzang participated in the qualifiers of the women's 10 m air rifle. She got 681.1 points, putting her in 43rd place overall, failing to advanced to the final. On 27 July, Tenzin participated in the heats of the men's 100 metre freestyle in heat one. He finished the race in 57.57 seconds, in 68th place overall, and failed to advanced to the semifinals.
TheBhutan Olympic Committee was recognized by the IOC on 23 November 1983.[1] The appearance ofBhutan at the Tokyo Summer Olympics marked their tenth consecutive summer appearance since it first entered the Games during the 1984 Summer Olympics.[2][3] Bhutan has never won an Olympic medal as of these Games.[3]
The 2020 Summer Olympics were originally scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan from 24 July to 9 August 2020, however, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[4] Bhutan sent a delegation of four athletes.[5]Karma, an archer, andSangay Tenzin, a swimmer, served as the team's flagbearers in theopening ceremony,[6] while Tenzin was the sole flagbearer in theclosing ceremony.[7]
Karma began archery in April 2009.[8] She went to her first international competition in 2012,[9] and competed in her first Olympics in 2016.[10] She is the first athlete from Bhutan who got a place in thequota allocation system of the Olympics in any sport.[11] While training for the 2020 Games, Karma did a "Robin Hood" shot, which is an arrow being fired into another arrow that is already in the target board, splitting it, just like as told in the stories ofRobin Hood. The odds of doing the shot is 1 in 3,000.[12]
Ngawang Namgyel was trained in Japan before the Games.[13] This was Namgyel's debut appearance at the Olympics as well as the first ever appearance of a Bhutanese judoka.[14]
Lenchu Kunzang was trained as a police officer, graduating from theJigmeling Police Training Centre inGelephu in 2012, topping her class in rifle shooting, and was later stationed inPhuntsholing.[15] Along with three others, she was approached by theBhutan Olympic Committee who were looking for elite shooters from the police training centre.[15] She was selected to become part of the national team by the Bhutan Shooting Federation in 2013.[16] She participated at the 2016 Olympic Games but did not place.[17]
Tenzin's appearance was the first ever of a Bhutanese swimmer.[18] He would participate again at the2024 Summer Olympics in the same event.[19]
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Judo | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Shooting | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Swimming | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Bhutan was represented by one female athlete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in archery:Karma in thewomen's individual event. She qualified for the women's individual recurve at the Games by reaching the quarterfinal stage and obtaining one of the three available spots at the2019 Asian Archery Championships inBangkok, Thailand. This marks the first time that a Bhutanese athlete achieved an Olympicquota spot in any sport.[20] This was Karma's second appearance at the Olympics after being inRio 2016.[5] She participated in the ranking round where she scored 616 points, placing her in 56th seed.[21] On 28 July, her opponent,Deepika Kumari, defeated her in the Round of 64 in the women's individual recurve. She lost 0–6 failing to advance to the Round of 32.[22][5]
| Athlete | Event | Ranking round | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final /BM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Seed | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank | ||
| Karma | Women's individual | 616 | 56 |  Kumari (IND)L 0–6 | Did not advance | |||||
Bhutan was represented by one male athlete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Judo: Namgyel in themen's 60 kg.[23] He qualified via a universality place from theInternational Judo Federation.[24][a] This was Namgyel's debut appearance at the Olympics as well as the first appearance of a Bhutanese judoka.[14]
Competing in themen's –60 kg event, Ngawang Namgyel lost toMihraç Akkuş through ajuji-gatame. He lost in 2:56 minutes on 24 July. Despite the loss, the Bhutan Judo Association described Namgyel's performance as "good positive judo" noting that the judoka attempted aseoi nage on his Turkish opponent. Namgyel's loss was attributed to the lack of left-handed senior judoka in Bhutan to spar with during training, as well asnewaza or ground training not being a significant part of Namgyel's preparations.[23]
| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final /BM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | ||
| Ngawang Namgyel | Men's 60 kg |  Akkuş (TUR)L 00–10 | Did not advance | |||||
Bhutan was represented by one female athlete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in shooting: Kunzang in thewomen's 10 m air rifle.[5] She qualified via a universality place from theTripartite Commission.[26] This was Kunzang's second appearance at the Olympics.[27] On 24 July, she participated in the qualifiers of the women's 10 m air rifle. She got 681.1 points, putting her in 43rd place overall, failing to advanced to the final.[28]
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Rank | Points | Rank | ||
| Lenchu Kunzang | Women's 10 m air rifle | 618.1 | 43 | Did not advance | |
Bhutan was represented by one male athlete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in swimming:Sangay Tenzin in themen's 100 m freestyle. He qualified via a universality place. This was Tenzin's debut appearance at the Olympics as well as the first appearance of a Bhutanese swimmer.[18] On 27 July, he participated in the heats of the men's 100 metre freestyle in heat one. He finished the race in 57.57 seconds, in 68th place overall, and failed to advanced to the semifinals.[29]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Sangay Tenzin | Men's 100 m freestyle | 57.57 | 68 | Did not advance | |||
