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India’s Deepika Kumari was satisfied with her ninth-place finish in the ranking round of the women’s individual archery competition at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. She scored a total of 663 on Friday and will now face Bhutanese archer Karma.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Deepika Kumari said it was just the ranking rounds and that the focus will be on bringing the ‘A’ game during matchplay.
“I am satisfied with my performance but it was just the ranking round. What matter’s is how we perform in the individual matches,” said Deepika Kumari.
The World No.1 revealed that it is extremely hot and windy in Tokyo but the archers have managed to tackle it.
“It is extremely hot but we are managing it. And then there is wind too but if its outdoor it will be windy. This is what we train for,” said added.
No crowd an advantage, feels Deepika Kumari
The Olympics in Tokyo are being held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers have issued plenty of guidelines for athletes to follow while in the Games village to minimize the risk of an outbreak.
Deepika Kumari feels that earlier they had to focus just on matches but now they have to keep the COVID-19 protocols in mind as well. Speaking on the lack of fans inside the stadiums, Deepika said it might be an advantage as there will be no crowd distraction.
“It is the same Olympics. We only have to keep the protocols in mind too. But during the match, all the concentration is on the target,” Deepika Kumari said.
She continued:
“I think there may be some advantage without the crowd.”
Deepika Kumari will be in line for a potential quarter-final match against top seed An San. The South Korean archer finished at the top of the rankings in today's event. She scored 680 including 36 10’s and 16 X’s (bulls-eye) to break the previous Olympic record held by Ukraine's Lina Herasymenko (673) in 1996.
The Indian archer highlighted that it is important to be confident for the upcoming matches and take it one match at a time as the Olympics are different from other competitions.
“The aim is to take small strides now and plan for each match. More importantly, I need to be confident. I am carrying confidence from other competitions but the Olympics is different. There are a lot of expectations and criticism too,” she said.
Deepika Kumari will be in action on July 28 for the women’s individual event. She will compete in a mixed team event on July 24 along with Atanu Das.
FOLLOW LIVE: Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav, Tarundeep Rai - Indians in action at Olympics 2021
