Great expectations

Gagan K. Teja

Could Deepika Kumari’s wonderful talent, her promise of a big, big global medal, be realised at Rio de Janeiro?

Four years ago, Deepika was the world No. 1 before the London Olympics. Then, at the famous Lord’s cricket ground, her dream of gold was dashed by swirling winds. Deepika was beaten in the first round itself. She was shattered.

This time around, Deepika says she’s not bothered about the pressure of the expectations. If she’s really not bothered, then it says much about her maturity — because the pressure is certainly immense. “It certainly is the biggest tournament of everyone’s lives, but to be honest, there is no pressure,” she says.

Deepika leads the strong Indian women’s team. The men’s team has failed to qualify, and only Atanu Das will be competing in the individual category. The onus to get a medal, thus, falls on the shoulders of the women’s team of Deepika, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Laxmi Rani Majhi.

Like before London 2012, the expectations are quite high. The women archers have been competing together in several international tournaments, they’re in sync with each other’s rhythm and form. They’ve been shooting together for years, and they’ve been able to combine and strategise for the Olympics. Bombayla and Laxmi Rani do not have any big individual medals to their credit, but as a team, they’ve been exceptional. Apart from a few hiccups here and there, they have been performing excellently as a team.

The trio qualified for the Olympics when it won a silver at the Copenhagen World Championships last year. 

In April, Deepika showed that she’s in terrific form when she equalled a world record during the Archery World Cup in Shanghai. Deepika shot 686 in the 72-arrow ranking round, equalling the record set by Ki Bo Bae of South Korea, winner of the gold at the 2012 Olympics. However, Deepika would be sobered by what happened the next day — she lost in the quarterfinal round.

Deepika has kept a low profile this year, but her coaches and teammates say that she has been in a very good form over the last few months.

Deepika and Bombayla have been around — this will be Bombayla’s third Olympics, and Deepika’s second. They would have to lead from the front and set an example for Laxmi Rani, the 27-year-old from Jharkhand who belongs to the Santhal tribe.

Long wait

If the Indians succeed in bringing home a medal, it would be a first in archery. In 1992, three-time Olympian Limba Ram had got close to winning a medal — he lost out by a single point at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Indian archers would compete in three categories out of four — women’s individual, men’s individual and women’s team. The archery community in India is hoping that this time India’s medal drought will end. Their hopes are high because of Deepika Kumari.

Deepika, a veteran but still only 22 years old, is ranked fifth in the world. Her composure and the ability to perform well in pressure situations make her a favourite pick for Rio.

Confident of the success of the team, coaches Dharmendra Tiwari and Purnima Mahato are very positive. “The archers have been very consistent of late, which is a good sign,” says Tiwari. “They have enough exposure now to compete against anyone and they are already training in Brazil, which will help them get acquainted with the weather conditions.”

“We are hoping for a very good show,” Mahato says.

The archers are equally hopeful, but keeping in mind what happened in 2012, they’re going about their business quietly — they’re wary of getting caught in the hype and getting bogged down by expectations and pressure.

One-man show

Atanu Das will be competing in the men’s individual category. He has the ability to spring a surprise and can be unstoppable on his day. According to the coaches, his form in practice has been excellent. Das is ranked No. 22 in the world, but he has it in him to compete for a medal.

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Deepika Kumari

Born: 13 June 1994 (22)

Birthplace: Ranchi

Achievements: Bronze Incheon Asian Games 2014 (Team) | Gold CWG 2010 (Team and Individual)

As an 18-year-old, Deepika competed in the London Olympics and made an unceremonious exit in the very first round. She was the world No. 

1 then. Now ranked No. 5, Deepika has evolved as an archer in the last four years. 

Having seen a lot of ups and downs after the London Olympics, Deepika’s recent performances have been pretty good. She has won medals in back-to-back tournaments over the last one year. Her best came when she equalled the world record in the women’s recurve event at the Archery World Cup in Shanghai in April. 

With the young archer getting another opportunity to fulfil her dream, she is leaving no stone unturned in her effort to create history.

What she said:

I believe I’m in my best physical and mental health. I am hoping to put up a good show at Rio. All archers are in their best form and if we go by the performances in recent tournaments, we can expect a medal. I am just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

It certainly is the biggest tournament of everyone’s lives but to be honest, there is no pressure. I am taking everything in a flow. I am treating it like any other international competition since we will be competing against known opponents. So this being Olympics will not make much of a difference. The only thing that will be important is that we have to keep our cool and keep our form intact.

I have been in Brazil for the past few days, practising. And for this, I am grateful to the Sports Authority of India and Archery Association of India for organising this so that we could get used to the conditions. This is certainly helping us in getting acquainted with the weather and conditions.

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Bombayla Devi Born: 22 February 1985 (31)

Birthplace: Imphal

Key achievement: Gold CWG 2010 (Team)  

Having already participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games, Bombayla is the senior-most archer of the team. She was part of the team that won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She was also part of the team that won silver in the Shanghai Archery World Cup this year.

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Laxmi Rani Majhi 

This will be her first Olympics, and Laxmi will have a key role to play in the team tournament. Laxmi has been a consistent member of the team over the past few months. She, too, was on the team that won silver in the Shanghai Archery World Cup this year. She also has a gold to her credit in the team event at the 2014 Wroclaw Archery World Cup.

Born: 26 January 1989 (27)

Birthplace: Ghatshila, Jharkhand

Key achievement: Gold at CWG 2010 (Team)  

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Atanu Das

Born: 25 April 1992 (24)

Birthplace: Kolkata | Key achievement: Bronze in mixed team at 2013 World Cup

In 2012, the Indian men’s team had qualified for the team event. However, this time Atanu Das is the lone man competing at Rio. Though Mangal Singh Champia succeeded in winning the berth for India for Rio, Atanu drubbed Champia and Olympian Jayanta Talukdar during the final selection trial and will try his luck in the individual event. Atanu is a trainee of the Tata Archery Academy in Jharkhand. He had also competed in the 2014 Asian Games but lost in the quarterfinals.

What he said:

An Olympics medal would be like a dream come true for any player and it will not be wrong to say that it would be the happiest moment of an archer’s life. However, I am not stressing myself over winning a medal. I am just focussed on improving my performance, so that I return home convinced that I gave it my best shot.

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Archery at Rio

Number of Gold medals

4 = 2 men + 2 women

Event Dates: August 5 to 12 

Indian angle

India will participate in three events — men’s individual, women’s individual and women’s team. The Indian squad comprises the women’s team of Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmi Rani Majhi, and Atanu Das, the sole male archer in the contingent

Schedule

Men’s individual (Das): Das’s event starts on Aug 5 with the ranking round, followed by the elimination rounds on Aug 8, 9, and 10. The medal round is on Aug 12

Women’s individual (Deepika, Bombayla, Laxmi Rani): The individual event starts on Aug 5 with the ranking round, followed by the elimination rounds on Aug 8, 9, and 10. The medal round is on Aug 11

Women’s team (Deepika, Bombayla, Laxmi Rani): The team event will take place on Aug 7, when both elimination and medal rounds will be held

Format

• The distance between the archer and the target (1.22m of diameter) is 70m. The target score varies from 1 to 10, according to the proximity to the inner circle 
• An arrow is around 5.5mm in diameter. Arrows can leave the bow at over 240km/h
• The archers have 40 seconds to shoot each of their six arrows. In the finals, the archers have 20 seconds to shoot each of their three arrows 
• In individual events, archers with the best results after five series of three arrows go through to the next phase. The same rule applies to team events, but the best teams after four series of six arrows go through
• In the ranking round, archers shoot 72 arrows, each arrow carrying a maximum 10 points

Favourites

South Korea are the top archery nation in the world — they have won medals in the last eight editions. At Beijing 2008 and London 2012, South Korea were on podium in all four events

At London 2012, South Korea won 3 of the 4 gold on offer. Italy won the other gold. China, Japan, Mexico and USA were the other teams to win medals

At Beijing 2008, South Korea won 2 of the 4 gold, while China and Ukraine won 1 gold each. Italy, France and Russia won the rest of the medals

Indian archers have participated in every Olympics since 1988, though India have never won a medal at the Olympics

Indian women reached the quarterfinals in the team event in 2004 and 2008, which is their best performance till date

Legend

Hubert Van Innis of Belgium competed in two Olympics (1904 and 1920) and won 6 medals in all, including  6 gold.

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Short Takes

Nadal’s injury situation delicate: Ferrer    

Madrid: Rafa Nadal’s injury situation is “delicate” ahead of the Rio Olympics, according to Spanish teammate David Ferrer. Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, has not played a competitive match since May 27 when a left-wrist injury forced him to pull out of the French Open after the second round and miss Wimbledon. World No. 4 Nadal won gold in Beijing eight years ago and will be Spain’s flag-bearer in Rio. “I will travel with Rafa on Sunday to Rio,” Ferrer said. “His situation is more delicate. It’s never easy to come back after an injury. We will see how he feels.” 

Bolt arrives in Rio for shot at immortality

RIO DE JANEIRO: Jamaica’s Usain Bolt has landed in Rio de Janeiro to fine tune his preparations for his attempt at an unprecedented triple-triple of gold medals in the men’s sprints. The world-record holder, who required a medical exemption after he pulled out of the Jamaican trials with a hamstring strain, proved his fitness last Friday by running 19.89 seconds to win the 200m at the London Diamond League meeting. He will join the Jamaican pre-Olympic camp as he seeks to become the first man to win gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay at three successive Games. 

Rio Mayor, Oz delegation chief kiss & make up 

Rio de Janeiro: Rio’s Mayor and Australia have buried the hatchet over shambolic conditions at the Olympics Village. Mayor Eduardo Paes kissed Australia delegation chief Kitty Chiller on the cheek, handed her a symbolic key to the city and apologised for the construction hiccups at the Village, which included blocked toilets, dangerous wiring and leaks. It was a far cry from his combative reaction on Sunday after Chiller lambasted the accommodations as the worst she’d seen in five Olympics. The Mayor’s quip that a kangaroo should be sent to make the Australians feel better fell flat, quickly surfacing on Twitter as #kangaroogate.