India’s 52-year-old wait for an archery medal in the Olympics got even longer with the exit of four-time Olympian Deepika Kumari at the Invalides arena here on Saturday.
Deepika – who did creditably well to make a comeback after giving birth to her daughter in January 2023 – had decided to shoot boldly in this edition to beat her nerves, which had weighed her down in the previous Olympics. She partially succeeded in her attempt, pulling off some fine performances, before being troubled by the noise of her jangling nerves on the high-pressure Olympics platform yet again.
A day after the Indian mixed team’s heartbreaking fourth-place finish, the 30-year-old began well by toppling Germany’s Olympic silver medallist Michelle Kroppen 6-4 (27-24, 27-27, 27-29, 27-27) in the pre-quarterfinals. But she lost to 19-year-old Korean Nam Suhyeon, who secured a team gold a day back, 6-4 (26-28, 28-25, 28-29, 29-27, 29-27) in the quarterfinals.
In the last-16 stage, Michelle began with an unexpected 6 and Deepika grabbed the opportunity to drill three 9s and take the first set.
The experienced Indian, competing in her fourth Olympics, fought with grit, shared points in the second set and extended her lead to 5-1 even after shooting a 7 in the third.
Michelle lifted her game to make it 3-5, but Deepika split points to move into the last-eight.
Hours later, the Indian made a fine start against the Korean too. Nam managed two 8s and Deepika executed her shots well to go 2-0 up and raise the hopes that she can repeat her winning performance against the same opponent in the World Cup Stage-1 semifinals in Shanghai in April last.
However, in a magnificent setting and in front of a rapturous crowd, she could not keep herself insulated as forgot the process and took longer to release her arrows.
A 6 and a 7 in the second shots of the second and fourth sets, respectively, let Nam level scores twice and spoil the Indian’s excellent shooting in first and third sets.
In the final set, Nam was too good for Deepika.
Deepika, who began her Olympic journey in London 2012, admitted that she missed her best chance to medal. “It is disappointing. I don’t know how and why I keep losing at the Olympic Games. Maybe it’s because of the atmosphere. It’s the weight of one’s own expectations,” Deepika said.
“I feel like I gifted her the match because of those two bad shots,” added Deepika, wanting to continue with her career.
Coach Purnima Mahato explained where the elite archer faltered. “Ideally you should have your shot within five-seven seconds of taking anchor position (near the chin). If you hold, all sorts of thoughts come into your mind. She held that shot longer (6 in the second set) and the second time (7 in the fourth set) she released early due to pressure,” said Mahato.
Eighteen-year-old debutant Bhajan Kaur, who has been going through good form, gave a valiant fight before exiting in the pre-quarterfinals. She lost to Indonesia’s Diananda Choirunisa 6-5 (29-28, 25-27, 28-26, 28-28, 26-27, shoot-off: 9-8) via tie-breaker.
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