For a very long time, the Indian fans have a valid complaint from the archers, who represent the nation at the Olympics. For instance, just look at Deepika Kumari; despite being one of the best in the world, she has not even come close to landing a medal at the biggest stage of them all — The Olympics.
In 2020, Deepika Kumari lost in the women’s individual quarters, as was the case in the mixed team event with Pravin Jadhav. In 2016, she had lost in the Round of 16 in the individual event, while the women’s team lost in the quarters. And in 2012, she lost in the Round of 64. All this, despite being ranked 1 in the world for a sizeable amount of time.
But all this might just be about to change for Deepika Kumari. Participating at the Paris Olympics 2024, the latter, along with Bhajan Kaur and Ankita Bhakat, finished fourth in the team round, with a total score of 1983. The top three teams were — South Korea, China and Mexico. That means, India has entered the quarterfinals already, and will face the winners of the tie between France and Netherlands.
Deepika Kumari’s Shot at an Olympics Medal
Let us just assume a few things here, on the basis of the players who are participating at the Paris Olympics 2024, and their rankings. Starting quarters, France is definitely a stronger team than Netherlands on paper. So if it’s IND vs FRA in quarters, what are India’s chances? Well, the French team of Amelie Cordeau (661), Caroline Lopez (659) and Lisa Barbelin (652) together scored 1972.
Just based on rankings, Lisa Barbelin is their best-ranked archer at 11th. Amelie is 101st, and Lopez is 44th. On the other hand, Ankita is 40th, Bhajan is 45th and Deepika is 12th. So the rankings definitely give India an edge.
In the semis, India will most likely face the best team — South Korea. Let’s again for a minute, assume that India loses that tie, but they will still have a chance in the bronze medal playoff. There it could be China, Mexico, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia or Malaysia. So, fingers crossed.
