Deepika Kumari Promises To Come Back Stronger After Heartbreak In Paris, Says ‘Won’t Retire Until I Get Olympic Medal’

Deepika Kumari lost to South Korean Nam Suhyeon in the quarterfinal of women’s individual archery recurve event.

Paris: Multiple World Cup medal-winning Indian archer Deepika Kumari has vowed to continue until she wins an Olympic medal. Entering at the Paris Olympics 2024 as one of the medal hopefuls, Deepika once again faltered in pressure situations at the grandest stage. Following the Indian women’s archery teams’ ouster in the quarterfinals, hopes were pinned on Deepika to bring a medal in the individual event. However, the 30-year-old lost to South Korean Nam Suhyeon 4-6 despite taking a lead. Incidentally, the Indian had defeated the same archer in the semifinal of the Shanghai World Cup recently. Nam finished with a silver.

“Obviously, I want to play more in the future and will continue my game,” Deepika told PTI at the India House. “I really want to win an Olympic medal, and I won’t quit until I achieve that. I’ll train harder and come back strongly,” added Deepika, who has won every international medal except for an Olympic yellow metal.

“Firstly, I will present myself more strongly. There are many things, like quick shooting, that I need to learn a bit more about, and it’s very important to train myself accordingly. What I learned from the Olympics is that late shooting doesn’t work; you have no room to make big mistakes, so you have to control that. I will learn that from here,” she said in hindsight.

Deepika, 30, appeared in her fourth consecutive Olympics in Paris, making a remarkable comeback after becoming a mother for the first time in December 2022, when she gave birth to her daughter. After topping the national selection trials, Deepika went on to win an individual gold at the Shanghai World Cup in April.

Back at her favorite venue, where she had won multiple World Cup medals, Olympic pressure was evident as she had her worst ranking round ever at the Games. Looking back at the result, Deepika said: “I was not nervous. I was playing strongly, but one shot (the 7-point) really went wrong, and that was the reason I lost the match. Overall, it was a good experience.”

Three Things She Needs To Work On

“To keep myself calm; to focus more on my shooting form and concentration; and finally, to enjoy the game fully when I have time,” she said. With her sights set on LA 2028, Deepika said: “In the next Olympics, I want to be mentally stronger and win a medal. I really want to win an Olympic medal.”

The archers did not have the India sports psychologist Gayatri Vartak present until just before the mixed team event, due to a delayed visa. “No, I don’t think it played any role in our performance. We stayed in touch with her and talked to her continuously. It’s not an issue in this case,” she signed off.