Deepika Kumari Blames Conditions for Archery Team’s Early Exit

Former world no 1 Deepika Kumari choked yet again in a major event.

Deepika Kumari aims for the target during the women’s team archery competition at the Sambadrome venue during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 7 August 2016. (Photo: AP)

India’s greatest archery hope Deepika Kumari failed to deliver when it mattered the most and then blamed it on the windy conditions after Indian archery team went down 4-5 to Russia in the quarterfinals of the women’s recurve competition.

After the two teams were tied at 4-4, having won two sets each, the Russian trio of Tuiana Dashidorzhieva, Ksenia Perova and Inna Stepanova held their nerves in the shoot-off winning it by 25-23 margin.

Deepika, whose form has been the worst of three Indian archers in the fray, needed to shoot a perfect 10 in the final shot but the highly rated Jharkhand archer could only manage an 8 under floodlights at the Sambodromo arena.

Its Very Hard to Digest the Loss: Deepika Kumari

Deepika KUmari. (Photo: AP)

Strong southern winds of about 37 km/h at the historical Samba Street made matters worse for both the teams but it was the Indians who were affected the most to finish sixth.

We tried our best, and all of us gave 100 percent but it’s really disappointing to lose this way, once again. It was very windy was kind of blowing away us. Somehow we missed the crucial points. It was simply our not day. It’s very hard to digest the loss. The wind was blowing our equipment away and was difficult to target the centre.

Deepika Kumari, Archer, India

It was mainly because of Laishram Bombayla Devi that India gave a stiff competition to the Russian girls.

After her third consecutive Games appearance, Bombayla said that the two-point loss in the shoot-off will continue to haunt them in future.

No Time to Ponder Over Loss

Asked whether their poor qualification ranking of seventh made a difference, Bombayla cited an example of third ranked China, which made an exit losing to Italy in the quarterfinals.

Bombayla Devi Laishram aims for the target during the women’s team archery competition at the Sambadrome venue during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 7 August 2016. (Photo: AP)

It really does not matter. China qualified as third ranked team but they also lost. It’s always a new target when you are on your mark.

Laishram Bombayla Devi, Archer, India

Coach Poornima Mahato said it’s not the time to ponder much on the loss but to prepare well for the individuals beginning on Monday.

We have to keep fighting and bounce back like a tiger.

Poornima Mahto, Coach, Indian Archery Team

India Lose to Russia in a Tense Shootout

India lost the first set comprehensively 55-48 but Bombayla and Laxmirani hit perfect 10s in the second set to equalise the scores at 53-52.

India’s Bombayla Devi Laishram holds her bow during the women’s team archery competition at the Sambadrome venue during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 7 August 2016. (Photo: AP)

India won the third set by 53-50 mainly due to Stepanova getting one of her shots wrong, fetching only 6 points. Up 4-2, India could have clinched the issue in the fourth set when they needed a perfect score of 30 with their second set of arrows and equalise the Russian team’s score of 55 and thereby win by a 5-3 margin having tied the score.

Bombayla and Laxmirani hit the bull’s eye and Deepika needed to follow the suit. It was another moment of reckoning where she scored only 8 thereby handing over the set to Russia by a 55-54 margin which enabled them to take the match into the shoot-off round.

Earlier, India had beaten Colombia in the pre-quarterfinal 5-3 to make it to the last eight stage. The trio of Deepika, Bombayla and Laxmirani will now be a part of the individual recurve event.

In the men’s section, India’s lone competitor is Atanu Das, who had qualified for the final with an impressive overall position of 5th in the qualifying round.

(With inputs from PTI)