[WATCH] Indian archer Deepika Kumari trains in the French capital ahead of her 4th Olympic appearance at Paris 2024
Indian veteran archer Deepika Kumari is gearing up for the Paris Olympics 2024, marking her fourth appearance at the Summer Games.
The Paris Olympics 2024 will see Deepika lead the Indian archery contingent, which includes two debutants, Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur. After taking a break following the birth of her daughter two years ago, Deepika hopes to make a strong comeback and is determined to give her best performance.
In a video posted on her social media handles, she was seen diligently training at the Les Invalides, the Olympic archery venue for Paris 2024. Here's the video:
The Paris Olympics are set to begin on July 26, with the archery ranking events scheduled for July 25. The elimination rounds will follow from July 28 to August 3 at Les Invalides.
Deepika Kumari aims to end Indian archery’s medal drought at the Olympics
India has long awaited an Olympic archery medal. The country has produced talented archers who have performed exceptionally on the world stage. However, the immense pressure of expectations from over a billion people has often been a challenge, particularly for Deepika Kumari, who has carried India's medal hopes in archery for the past 14 years.
Deepika's journey in the sport began with a remarkable win at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 at just 16 years old. She entered the London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics as the world number one but couldn't secure an Olympic medal.
She recently clinched a silver medal at the Archery World Cup Stage-1 final in Shanghai and is currently the highest-ranked Indian archer, sitting at the 12th spot in the World Archery rankings. Her performance this season has been impressive, with an average score of 9.20, higher than her career average of 9.10. Although her best score this season is 677, it is slightly below her career best of 686 achieved in 2016.
Deepika Kumari will be eyeing a strong performance in the ranking rounds, which will determine the position for the single-elimination bracket. A higher position will ensure that she’ll face a relatively weaker opponent, which will help her ease her way into the medal matches.