In July 2003, the Department for Youth, Culture & Sports of Bhutan was established under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, with the objective to develop “a holistic approach and policy for sports and social development.”[7]
Bhutan and the Netherlands were involved in a cooperation programme starting 2001. This programme's function is to improve archery, a national sport in Bhutan. The intention was for Bhutan to become one of the leading countries in Olympic archery at the 2012 Games. The bilateral cooperation resulted in the publication of a book, in 2004, on traditional and modern archery in Bhutan and the Netherlands, and a documentary film on Bhutan Olympic Archery that was screened in Germany and other international channels. Similar cooperation was extended to football by the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB).[7] In 2004 the Bhutan Archery Federation was honored with a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands.[8]
The committee's headquarters were moved in 2023 to the new Olympasia House with assistance from the Olympic Council of Asia. It was inaugurated on 30 March 2023.[10]As of 2025[update], its president is Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, serving since 2009 as its seventh president. As of 2025[update], its secretary general is Sonam Karma Tshering, and has been since 2010.[11] The NOC is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code published by the World Anti-Doping Agency.[12]
Bhutan first participated at the Olympic Games in 1984, and have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since then.[13] The country has not competed at the Winter Olympic Games, or ever won a medal.[14] In its first seven Olympics, 1984 through 2008, Bhutan competed only in archery, but in 2012 it also competed in shooting.[15]
The delegation that Bhutan sent to the 1984 Summer Olympics consisted of six athletes competing in archery.[16] Overall, the best result was Sonam Chuki, coming in 43rd, and the worst was Lhendup Tshering, coming 60th.[16] Bhutan sent three archers to the 1988 Summer Olympics, none of them advanced past the ranking round, either as teams or as individuals. As individuals, their best placement was 73rd and the lowest was 80th. As a team, their placement was 22nd.[17] The nation sent a delegation of six archers to compete at the 1992 Summer Olympics.[18] None of the Bhutanese archers advanced past the ranking round, either as teams or as individuals.[19] The Bhutanese women's team was the only team to not advance to the Round of 16 in its event.[20]
The Bhutanese delegation that competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics consisted of two archers.[21] Neither of them advanced past the Round of 64,[21] with both of them being defeated by Ukrainians.[22][23] Bhutan competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics with two archers.[24] Neither of the archers advanced past the Round of 64.[25][26] Bhutan's delegation at the 2004 Summer Olympics consisted of two athletes competing in archery.[27] One of them, Tashi Peljor, defeated his opponent in the Round of 64 and advanced to the Round of 32,[28] where he lost.[28]Tshering Choden also won in the first round and advanced to the Round of 32, where she tied, before losing in a tiebreaker.[29]As of 2024[update], these are the best Bhutanese results at the Games.[2]
Bhutan sent a delegation of two archers to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics.[30] Neither won their first-round match.[31][32] Bhutan sent a team of two to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London,[33][34] which took place from 27 July to 12 August 2012.[35] This marked the nation's eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics[36] and the first in which the nation competed in a sport other than archery.[37] The Bhutanese delegation included archer Sherab Zam and shooter Kunzang Choden.[33][34] Zam was the flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies.[38] Neither of Bhutan's athletes progressed beyond the first round of their events.[39][40] Bhutan was one of only two countries to have a female-only team at the 2012 Games.[41] Bhutan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics with two athletes.[42] One athlete, Karma, was eliminated in the Round of 64,[43] while Lenchu Kunzang was eliminated from the competition after the shooting qualification round.[44]
The Bhutanese team competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics with a delegation of four athletes.[45] Every competitor was eliminated in the earliest round possible.[46][47][48][49] When Bhutan competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics,[50] its delegation consisted of three athletes.[51] Each one lost at the earliest possible round.[52][53][54]
↑ Olympedia states it was given recognition by the IOC in April 1984.[2]
References
↑ "October '12". National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
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Bhutan 
