Deepika Kumari
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A profile
Dhritiman Ray & Sourav Modak, July 31, 2016: The Times of India
RANCHI: Bollywood is into biopics these days. Paan Singh Tomar, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Mary Kom and Azhar have found takers while MS Dhoni: The Untold Story is due for release. Some have already called for a biopic of Saina Nehwal, with the player herself suggesting Deepika Padukone in the lead role. But a far more fascinating biopic, if it is ever made, could be of Deepika Kumari - the archer prodigy from Jharkhand, the former junior world champion who's aiming for gold in Rio.Few know that Deepika, now 22, once practised with homemade bows and arrows aiming at the mangoes in an orchard near their home. And that her father Shivpujan Mahato still ferries passengers in his auto-rickshaw while her daughter carries the Olympic medal hopes of a billion plus nation. Which is why the distance between Rio to Ratu, her birthplace located 15 kms from Ranchi, cannot be gauged only by nautical miles.
The landmark year in Deepika's life was 2005, when she insisted on pursuing a career in archery . At the time, her parents earned Rs 1,500 per month. "They lived in a modest hut. The family took months to replace the khapras (broken tiles) on the roof. They could not afford a maid. When at home, Deepika helped her mother do the dishes and the laundry," recalls neighbour Sadhucharan Mahato.
Not knowing what to do, Shivpujan took her 11-year-old daughter to the then chief minister Arjun Munda's wife Meera, who runs an archery academy in Kharsawan. Deepika had so much self-belief that she told Meera, "Just give me three months. And please throw me out if I don't perform".
The following year, she joined the Tata Archery Academy at Jamshedpur, which has churned out international archers by the dozen.There she first laid her hands on proper equipment. She also started receiving Rs 500 per month as stipend, making her parents' job easier. Deepika never look back. She became the second Indian to win the junior compound competition the same year, at the Archery World Cup in Merida, Mexico. But she went home only after winning the Youth World Archery Championship in Ogden, US in 2009. Aged only 15 then, she struck gold in women's team recurve alongside Dola Banerjee and Bombayla Devi.
The gold medals (individual and team recurve) in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games heightened everyone's expectations but she missed out on the individual gold in the Guangzhou Asian Games later that year.2012 was the most unforgettable year in Deepika's career. She won her first World Cup individual gold in Antalya. But flopped at the London Olympics. Shooting with fever and in strong wind, Deepika lost to Amy Oliver of Great Britain in the opening round. Ironically, she went on to become the world No. 1 that year.In the last three years, Deepika has never returned empty-handed from world events, winning the yellow metal at Medellin, Colombia in 2013. Last year she claimed silver in the team event with Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil Buriuly. The silver in mixed team event with Jayanta Talukdar at Asian Championships in November capped the year.One of the finest moments of her career came in April this year when she equalled the world record (686720) set by North Korea's Ki Bo-bae during the first stage of the World Cup held in Shanghai. It is only natural to pin hopes on the Ratu girl once again.
2015
World Cup Finals: Silver
The Times of India, October 27, 2015
It was heartbreak for DeepikaKumari who once again failed to win gold in the World Cup Finals. India's ace recurve archer went down 2-6 (28-28, 26-29, 27 29, 29-29) to Korea's Choi Misun in the final in Mexico City to settle for her fourth silver medal in five years at the World Cup Finals. In the final, sixth-seeded Deepika began well and the first set ended in a tie with both archers securing 28 points. Choi then opened up a sizeable lead as she won the next two sets by hitting 29 points each to go 5-1 up. Deepika managed 26 and 27 in those two sets.
In the final set, the 21-year old Indian split points (29-29) to lose 2-6. While both archers hit one bullseye each, Deepika could hit only four 10s compared to Choi's six. Deepika was tested by Japan's Kaori Kawanaka and Le Chien Ying of Chinese Taipei in thequarters and semis, respectively , before winning both contests by identical 6-4 margins. “I wish I had won gold here... It's something that doesn't seem to happen to me,“ the archer from Jamshedpur lamented after another missed chance. “My arrows went up. I tried to fix my sight but nothing worked,“Deepika said of on her performance in the final. Deepika, who did not qualify for the World Cup Finals in 2014, and made the cut in 2015 on the back of a bronze-medal winning show at World Cup Stage II, that gave her a total of 24 points, had finished runner-up at Finals held in Istanbul (2011), Tokyo (2012) and Paris (2013).
2016
2016: Archery World Cup
The Times of India, Apr 28 2016
Deepika equals world record
Indian archer DeepikaKumari equalled the world record in women's recurve event at the Archery World Cup, 2016.
The former world No. 1 and winner of two Commonwealth Games gold medals shot 686 in the 72-arrow ranking round to equal the feat of London Olympics gold-medallist Ki Bo Bae of Korea. The top seed Deepika will now play Round Three of Last 32 directly, while her teammate LaxmiraniMajhi, who ranked a poor 45, and RimilBuriuly (75) will start from Round One. The women's team is ranked fourth. Deepika set the range ablaze shooting 346 in the first half and needed just 341to get past the Korean but two 9s in the last end meant the 2015 record remained intact. Deepika's effort also enabled India to get a top ranking in mixed pair as she partnered 12th ranked Atanu Das (671points) to defeat Turkey 5-3 in the first round of eight.
2016, an analysis
The Times of IndiaDec 25 2016
DEEPIKA KUMARI
It's tough to imagine that a person who shot arrows off bows made of homemade bamboo till the age of 11, would be India's biggest medal hope at the Olympics, but expectations placed on the 22-year-old Deepika were high.
The Ranchi girl, who was up against Chinese Taipei's world No. 2 Tan Ya-Ting in the Rio Olympics, capitulated in the pre-quarterfinal clash losing 6-0 in straight sets.Though she put up a better show than in London, it served as little consolation as fellow archer Bombayla Devi also got trumped by Mexico's Alejandra Valencia. Deepika also had a disappointing campaign in the Shanghai World Cup in 2016.
2018-19
[ The Times of India]
Deepika Kumari: Deepika Kumari held her nerve in an intriguing play-off to beat 2016 Rio Olympics individual silver medallist Lisa Unruh of Germany to win the bronze at the Archery World Cup Finals in September 2018 in Turkey. This was Deepika’s fifth World Cup final podium finish. In June 2018, Deepika clinched the gold in the women’s recurve event at the World Cup (Stage III) beating Germany’s Michelle Kroppen 7-3 to qualify for the circuit final. In July 2019, Deepika won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Games test event after going down to 18-year-old Korean An San in straight sets.
