World Cup, Stage 3: Deepika Kumari set for India comeback at Paris

The World No. 3 will look to redeem herself after failing to win a medal at the Tokyo Games.

Deepika Kumari failed to win a medal at the Tokyo Games last year.

Deepika Kumari is all set to make a India comeback in the upcoming Stage 3 of the World Cup beginning here on Tuesday.

Exactly a year after she won an individual gold here in the same tournament, the 28-year-old World No. 3 will look to redeem herself after failing to win a medal at the Tokyo Games. That the Olympics is slated in two years at the same venue will be an added motivation for Deepika.

ALSO READ - Jayanta Talukdar regains his mojo after mischances, injuries and COVID battle

Having returned empty-handed from her third Olympics campaign last year, Deepika saw a slump in form along with her husband Atanu Das, and failed to make the Indian team. The duo also could not qualify for the team for the Asian Games which was later postponed as the Archery Association of India conducted a fresh trial of the top-eight archers for the Stage 3 of the World Cup.

Earlier the same squad was to compete in both the World Cup Stage 3 and the Asian Games but after the postponement Deepika and Pravin Jadhav, who were in the top-8 of the earlier conducted trial, got a fresh opportunity and made the cut.

• Recurve Men : Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar, Pravin Jadhav and Neeraj Chauhan.
• Recurve Women : Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, Ridhi Phor and Simranjeet Kaur.
• Compound Men : Abhishek Verma, Aman Saini, Mohan Bhardwaj and Sangampreet Bisla.
• Compound Women : Jyothi Surekha Venna, Priya Gurjar, Avneet Kaur and Muskan Kirar.

Atanu, however, missed out having finished outside top-8 in the earlier conducted trial.

Deepika made the cut at the expense of Komalika Bari, while her Tokyo Olympic mixed team partner Jadhav ousted Sachin Gupta to complete the World Cup Stage 3 lineup.

Deepika was last seen in action for India in the Yankton World Cup Final in September 2021 where she finished fourth.

The compound section also saw the return of World Championships silver medalist Jyothi Surekha Vennam who too had failed to make the Asian Cup contingent earlier this year.

World No. 3 Jyothi last competed at Dhaka Asian Championships in November last year where she won an individual gold. She returned in place of Raginee Makoo. Sangampreet Bisla, too, made a comeback ousting veteran Rajat Chauhan in the compound section.