NEW DELHI: Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumari is in red hot form ahead of her third Olympic appearance.
Along with the three gold medals she won recently in the World Cup in Paris, the 27-year-old Deepika will also enter the Tokyo Olympics as the new World No.
1 in the women’s individual recurve event.
The 27-year-old from Ranchi notched up a hat-trick of gold medals – in the women’s individual, team and mixed pair events – at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Paris.
Celebrated former Indian archer and Deepika’s mentor while she was competing, Dola Banerjee, feels Deepika will have a great chance of becoming the first Indian archer to win an Olympic medal in the Tokyo Games this time.
“We (Deepika and Dola) have played so many tournaments together for the country.
Qualifying for the Olympics and entering the Games as World No.
1 will give a huge boost to Deepika in Tokyo.
She is in tremendous form.
Winning three gold medals ahead of the Olympics is a huge thing for her.
Her confidence is sky-high.
She has a very good chance of winning medals in the Olympics this time in both the individual and mixed team events,” Dola told TimesofIndia.com.
Deepika Kumari and Dola Banerjee (TOI Photo)’DEEPIKA MENTALLY STRONG NOW’ Though Deepika is in red hot form, the one criticism she has faced in the past is faltering on the biggest stage of them all – the Olympics.
Her mental toughness was questioned in the last two editions of the Games in London and Rio.
While she has distinguished herself with her achievements, at the Olympics, she has missed her mark.
A lot of that was attributed to the expectations that people had of her.
In the 2012 London Olympics, Deepika had lost to Great Britain’s Amy Olivier 2-6 in the Round of 64.
Deepika, along with Laishram Bombayla Devi and Chekrovolu Swuro then lost to Denmark 210–211 in the women’s team event in the Round of 16 and failed to enter the quarterfinals.
In 2016, Deepika managed to enter the Round of 16 in the individual event but lost 0-6 to Chinese Taipei’s Tan ya-Ting.
Image credit: ANI”Deepika was very young during the London Olympics.
She had a chance of winning a medal in London and in Rio as well.
I think it was due to pressure or I would say the pressure of winning a medal.
Everyone faces pressure.
The Olympics is a different ball game altogether.
You just need to focus and not take any pressure.
Deepika didn’t know how to handle pressure back then.
She had mental pressure in the initial stages of her career just like every archer and sportsperson,” the 41-year-old veteran archer further said.
It was in the 2010 Commonwealth Games that the then 16-year-old Deepika, after winning the gold medals in Recurve individual and Recurve team events, was asked to attend the press conference.
The shutterbugs and reporters were eagerly waiting for Deepika.
But it took almost 30 minutes to convince a shy young archer to face the media.
“She (Deepika) is very mature now.
She knows how to play under pressure.
She knows how to tackle pressure.
She knows how to deal with it with a smile.
She is more confident now.
The confidence is visible on her face.
She is not the Deepika of old, she is a mature Deepika.
The World Cup medals (in Paris) are prime examples of that.
Her experience of the last two Olympics will help in Tokyo.
Her maturity and experience will help her win an Olympic medal,” Dola told TimesofIndia.com.
THE CONFIDENCE IS GROWING In Paris, Deepika first teamed up with Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari to win the women’s recurve team gold.
The team defeated Mexico in the final.
She then paired up with husband and star archer Atanu Das and registered a come-from-behind win over Netherland’s Sjef van den Berg and Gabriela Schloesser 5-3 for the gold medal in the Mixed pair event.
Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari (Photo by Dean Alberga/Getty Images)The 27-year-old trounced Russia’s Elena Osipova 6-0 in the individual event to register a hat-trick of gold medals in the World Cup.
Overall, in archery World Cups, Deepika has won nine gold, 12 silver, and seven bronze medals.
Dola, who won an individual World Cup gold in Dubai in 2007, feels Deepika will be a top medal contender at the Olympics this time.
“In the previous Olympics (Rio), she had a good chance of winning a medal, but things didn’t go her way.
She will definitely come back with a medal from Tokyo.
I am disappointed that the women’s team hasn’t qualified.
So, the eyes will be on Deepika.
She will be a part of individual and mixed team events and I am sure she will do well in both categories.
I am hoping she gets medals in both events,” Dola told TimesofIndia.com.
Indian women’s recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari won gold medal in the World Cup (Photo credit: PTI)”In the previous World Cups and other tournaments, the pair of Deepika and Atanu has won many medals.
They are a lovely couple (laughs) and their chemistry is evident on the field too.
That’s good for our sport.
I am sure the husband-wife pair will win a medal in the mixed team event in Tokyo,” Dola further said.
‘INDIAN ARCHERY NEEDS AN OLYMPIC MEDALLIST’ Dola feels Indian archery needs someone who can set a benchmark by winning a medal at the Olympics.
“You need a person who can set an example in a sport.
For example, Rajyavardhan Rathore won a silver medal, India’s first-ever Olympic medal in shooting, in Athens (2004).
And then it was followed by Abhinav Bindra who won gold in Beijing.
It was Rajyavardhan who set the benchmark for shooters at the Olympics.
He took away that pressure from the shooters.
He gave a boost to the sport.
After him, Abhinav and others went to the Olympics and added some more medals to shooting,” she said.
“Similarly, archery also needs someone like that.
I think Deepika will become the first Indian Olympic medallist in archery and set an example for other Indian archers.
Because you need someone who starts it off,” Dola signed off.
‘Deepika can win the first Indian Olympic medal in Archery’
