Sonipat: World No. 2 Deepika Kumari has failed to make the Indian squad for the upcoming Asian Games. It is one of the biggest setbacks in her illustrious career. Deepika Kumari lost two of her three round robin matches in the final leg at the SAI centre here Sunday and failed to find a place in the team. Deepika had finished a lowly fifth in the two-phase eliminations Saturday to determine the top-eight.
The Asian Games will take place in Hangzhou from September 10-25.
This is for the first time since winning a gold medal at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 that Deepika will be out of a multi-discipline showpiece event.
The 27-year-old has represented India at the Asian Games in 2010, 2014 and 2018. She won a team bronze in Guangzhou 12 years ago.
In her senior career since 2009, Deepika’s trophy cabinet is full of World medals. However, an Olympic podium finish has eluded the most decorated Indian archer. Deepika has won 11 gold medals, 12 silver and seven bronze at the World Cup. She is also a record four-time ‘World Cup Final’ runner-up and a bronze medalist. Deepika has also won two silver medals at the World Championships.
Tokyo Olympics last year was her best chance yet to win a medal. She went into the event with the World No 1 tag for the second time (since London 2012) after winning five World Cup medals in the build-up. But Korean rivals became Deepika’s nemesis once again. She made quarterfinal exits in both mixed and individual events.
In the round robin phase, Deepika finished with one point to fall behind, as Ankita Bhakat (3.25) and Simranjeet Kaur (2) joined Haryana teenagar and reigning national champion Ridhi Phor for the Asian Games.
The same team will also represent India in the first three phases of the World Cup beginning with the Stage 1 in Antalya in mid-April.
The first archery couple to represent in an Olympics in Tokyo last year, Deepika and Atanu Das can still fancy their chances to make a comeback. However, the current squad have to underperform in the three World Cup legs.
“We will monitor their performances in the World Cups. Should an archer falls way behind (in qualification scores) then we will have a final trial in July for the ones who missed out,” a top Indian archery official said Monday.
Atanu and Deepika were going through a rough patch since the Tokyo debacle. They also missed the cut for last year’s World Championships, the trial for which was conducted immediately after the Olympics.
At the recently-concluded Senior Nationals, Atanu had to settle for a silver losing to Sachin Gupta, while Deepika finished with a bronze.
“It’s not that they are faring poorly but the upcoming archers are doing better. They are facing some mental issues and I hope they will overcome it sooner than later keeping the Paris Olympics in mind next year,” said the official.
The men’s lineup for the Hangzhou Asiad sprung some surprise as 36-year-old Jayanta Talukdar made a comeback to the Indian squad for the first time since 2019. The 2006 World Cup champion, who made his Asian Games debut in the same year, grabbed his berth by qualifying alongside 22-year-old reigning national champion Sachin Gupta.
The men’s recurve team will thus have two Asian Games warhorses in Rai and Talukdar. Both won a team bronze at the Guangzhou edition 12 years ago.
Preliminary Indian squad for three World Cups and Asian Games
(Men’s recurve): Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar, Neerja Chauhan and Sachin Gupta.
(Women’s recurve): Ridhi Phor, Komalika Bari, Ankita Bhakat and Simranjeet Kaur.
