India goes into the Tokyo Olympics with high expectations from the archery team. Or, more importantly, from one sole archer who will be competing at her third Olympic games.
Deepika Kumari knows a thing or two about being a medal favourite having spent more than a decade plying her trade on the international circuit. At 16, she announced herself as the country's ace recurve archer, winning gold in individual and team events at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
At 18, the daughter of an auto driver and a nurse in the Ranchi Medical College was the winner of a World Cup gold. She was then the top-ranked archer in the world, aiming to become the country's youngest sportsperson to win an Olympic medal in 2012 London. But the pressure that comes with expectations weighted heavy on the archer as she couldn't finish on the podium in London, or the Rio Games four years later.
Now, she goes into the Tokyo Olympics having reclaimed her world number one ranking after winning three gold medals at the World Cup Stage 3 in Paris late last month.
Deepika's overall tally of nine gold, 12 silver and seven bronze in World Cups gives hope that the double Commonwealth Games gold medallist in 2010 Delhi could be the frontrunner for a medal in Tokyo. Hopes are also high because Deepika has got nearly two years of preparation time as she had secured the Tokyo berth in the 2019 Olympic qualification cycle.
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