It was a family affair as Atanu Das and his wife Deepika Kumari won the men’s and women’s individual recurve gold medals in the Archery World Cup Stage 1 here.
Atanu beat Daniel Castro of Spain 6-4, while Deepika defeated Mackenzie Brown of the USA 6-5 (9-9), via the tie-breaker, in the gold medal matches.
Atanu, who was trailing 4-2 in the third set, restored parity in the fourth before claiming victory in the fifth.
Hard work paying off
“It feels amazing. Dreams are coming true. I’ve worked so hard for so many years, and now this is paying off,” Atanu told www.worldarchery.org .
After taking a 2-0 lead, Deepika saw Mackenzie equalise in the third set.
The Indian regained her lead before the American made it 5-5 to force a tie-breaker.
Deepika’s shot was closer to the centre than her opponent’s as the two scored a nine each.
“It has been a long time since I shot in the finals. It feels great and, at the same time, I’m happy and nervous. It gives me confidence and pushes me to give better performances,” said Deepika.
It was Atanu’s first gold medal in the event, while it was Deepika’s third individual gold in a World Cup. She had triumphed previously in 2012 (China) and 2018 (USA).
Prolific
Deepika, who earlier claimed the team gold with Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari here, had been part of triumphant teams in 2011 (China), 2013 (Colombia and Poland), and 2014 (Poland).
Till date, she has collected 32 medals (eight gold, 16 silver and eight bronze) in World Cups and World Cup Finals.
Atanu also won a mixed team bronze with Ankita.
Indian recurve archers finished with three gold and one bronze medal to boost their morale ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
