Having lost her third title clash in as many years at the World Cup Finals, archer Deepika Kumari has been forced to look for reasons within. And the 19-year-old admitted that she lost the latest battle in Paris more in the mind than anything else.
“Archery is a mind game. It is all about how strong you are mentally. In major competitions, being tough makes a big difference. It would be great if we could have a sports psychologist with us,” she said at a felicitation function here on Tuesday.
The World Cup Finals features the eight best archers through the four World Cups every year.
Deepika has consistently reached the final of the competition since 2011, only to falter at the final step.
In 2011, she fought back twice against Ming Cheng of China to take the contest into a shoot-off before losing by one point.
Last year in Tokyo, she was 4-0 up but failed to shoot a single 10-pointer after that, to go down 6-4 to Korean Ki Bo Bae.
This year, she was up 3-1 against world No. 2 Yun Ok Hee, but inexplicably failed to shoot her final arrow in the third round, and could never recover thereafter.
Experience counts
“I won’t say it is about temperament. There is pressure, yes, but it is equal for both shooters.
“She (Hee) has been shooting for much longer and is far more experienced than me. I have learnt something new every time I play against her and I hope to come good in the future,” said Deepika, currently ranked third in the world.
The next assignment for the Indian team is the biennial world championships in Turkey, starting on September 30, and Deepika is looking forward to breaking the jinx there.
The Indian women’s recurve team had finished with the silver at the previous edition in 2011.
The Indian contingent for the world championships includes Jayanta Talukdar,
Tarundeep Rai and Kapil in the recurve men’s team, while Deepika, Dola Banerjee and Chekrowolu Swuro make up the women’s team.