Deepika’s last individual gold at a major event came in Turkey in 2012. (Source: File Photo)
Six years is a long time in sport. Many careers don’t even last that long at the top level. Deepika Kumari went six years without a gold medal at the World Cup. Together with disappointments at the last two Olympics where she was expected to contend for medals, there were hushed voices in the Indian archery establishment that the Jharkhand girl resting on past laurels.
Deepika’s last individual gold medal at a major event came at the Archery World Cup Stage II in Antalya (Turkey) in 2012. In the meantime, she has managed three in team events, the last of those coming at Wroclaw (Poland) four years ago, but much more is expected of the poster girl of Indian archery. She managed a silver at the Shanghai edition in 2013 and has been a runner-up at the World Cup Finals four times (2011, 21012, 2013 and 2015).
For Michelle Kroppen, the 22-year student from Germany, this was her first progress to an individual final on tour, her best results over the last two seasons coming in the women’s recurve team events. She is an indoor world team champion, but her best is yet to come. Deepika was the favourite going into the final of the World Cup Stage III at Salt Lake City, USA, but the delight and relief at re-entering the winner’s circle was understandable.
“Finally! That’s what I said when I won this gold medal,” Deepika said after the 7-3 victory.
After such a long victory drought, the 24-year-old indicated that there were some nerves.
“I was repeating to myself, ‘just do it the best, this is your time; just enjoy your game and forget about winning or losing and have fun’,” she said. After a barren few years, Deepika seems to have hit the upward curve again. The field at Salt Lake City did not have the dominant Koreans, but that should not take anything away from her efforts. Deepika finished fourth in the qualification round before running through successive opponents. Only Gabriela Bayardo of the Netherlands was able to give her a semblance of a fight in the semifinals.
The Archery Association of India sending a much smaller squad to the event also helped Deepika’s cause as she didn’t have to worry about the team event. The next World Cup stage is in Berlin next month, but the big prize for Deepika and her compatriots is the Asian Games in Jakarta. Judging by her latest performances, Indians are justified in raising their hopes.