Deepika Kumari led Women's Archery Team to compete in Final Olympics

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 8 June 2021

The Indian women's archery team is all set to compete in their final Olympic qualification event on June 20 in Paris. The team is led by former World No. 1 Deepika Kumari.

Deepika, Ankita Bhakat, and Komalika Bari will need to finish in the top three to secure the final available berth for the Tokyo Olympics, which begin on July 23.

“The Indian women archers are going through a mandatory 10-day quarantine. They went ahead of the men’s team because of the Olympic qualifiers,” says, Archery Association of India assistant secretary Gunjan Abrol.

While the men's team has already secured an Olympic berth for the 2019 World Championships, India only has an individual quota among women, which Deepika achieved two years ago at the Continental Qualifiers in Bangkok.

“The men’s recurve and compound teams will leave India on Tuesday,” Abrol said.

Both teams will compete in the World Cup's third stage a week after the qualification event.

Deepika Kumari is an Indian archery competitor who is currently ranked World No. 9 and was previously ranked World No. 1.  She won a gold medal in the women's individual recurve event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She also won a gold medal in the women's team recurve event in the same competition, alongside Dola Banerjee and Bombayala Devi.

Kumari competed in the Women's Individual and Women's Team events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, finishing eighth in the latter.

President of India Pranab Mukherjee presented her with the Arjuna Award, India's second-highest sporting honour, in 2012. She received the FICCI Sportsperson of the Year Award in February 2014. In 2016, the Indian government bestowed the civilian honour of Padma Shri on her.

Later in November 2019, Deepika Kumari earned an Olympic quota at the Continental Qualification Tournament which was held on the sidelines of the 21st Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok.