Overwhelmed to get the Padma Shri award so early in her career, Deepika Kumari today vowed to put her best foot forward at the forthcoming Rio Olympics.
21-year-old Deepika, who was undergoing training at the Tata Archery grounds in the JRD Tata sports complex here, said she did not expect to get the Padma Shri so early, as “I am too young for the award“.
Deepika said her focus was solely on the Rio Games now and on winning medals for the country.
“All along I had tried my best in any championship and not to return empty handed,” she told reporters while expressing her appetite to win medals.
“I have been working hard to rectify the mistakes I had committed in the last edition of the mega event. I was not fully prepared and could not handle the situation properly in the last edition of the Olympics,” said Deepika, after hoisting the national flag to mark the 67th Republic Day at the Tata Steel works here.
A Tata Steel official and also a cadet of Tata Archery Academy, Deepika said she would be wary of the Korean and Chinese archers at the Olympics.
“I expect a tough competition from Korea and China,” she said.
Deepika had won a silver at the Archery World Cup Finals, besides bronze medals at the World Cup Stage II and the Asian Team Championships. She had also won the team silver along with Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil Buriuly at the World Championships.
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