20 December 2011 - Athlete of the Week: Deepika KUMARI (IND)

Athlete of the Week: Deepika KUMARI (IND) Lausanne – 21 December 2011
The 17-year-old Indian Deepika KUMARI is the rising star of the archery world. She shone with some outstanding performances this year and emerges as a strong contender for an Olympic medal in 2012.   The daughter of an autorickshaw driver from Rachi, India, Deepika KUMARI proved to be a prodigal talent with her rapid progress since 2009. She made her entry on the international archery scene by becoming World Champion in 2009 in the cadet category at the age of 15.

She kept progressing and won her first medal at the senior international level the following year: a silver medal at the 2010 World Cup stage 4 in Shanghai. Shortly after, Deepika competed on home turf at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. There not only did she win the gold medal with her team – she also won the gold medal in the individual competition, defeating the 2004 Olympic bronze medallist Alison WILLIAMSON (GBR) in the final.

Deepika had even more success in the year 2011. She slowly gained form at the World Cup stage 2 in Antalya in June, when she won two silver medals (team and mixed team). A month later at the World Championship in Turin, the women’s trio from India created history by upsetting the defending champions Korea 216-212 in the semifinal. Deepika and her teammates Laishram Bombayla DEVI and Chekrovolu SWURO settled for the silver medal and booked three quotas berths for next year’s Olympic Games.

Winning the Commonwealth Games gold medal  
In August, Deepika qualified for three finals at the Ogden World Cup (individual, team and mixed team), and returned home with a hat trick of silver medals. Later that month, she claimed victory at the World Youth Championships in Legnica, this time in the junior category, where she also won bronze with her team. Finally, at the last stage of the World Cup in Shanghai, the young Indian archer added the individual bronze and the team gold to her fast-growing medal collection.

Fine performance in the four stages of the World Cup earned the teenager a place in the coveted World Cup Final for the first time in her career. Deepika began her campaign against the 2008 Olympic team bronze medalist Berengere SCHUH (FRA). Deepika won their semifinal match 6-0 and went on to shoot the final against the Chinese archer CHENG Ming. She lost the first set but came back in the second to tie at 2-2. After the third set, the Indian archer took the lead for the first time, 4-2. But a 7 from Deepika allowed CHENG to come back at 4-4. The fifth set ended in a tie, the match was thus tied at 5-5. The young Indian lost the shoot-off 8 to 9 and received the silver medal, her greatest accomplishment at the senior international level.

Thanks to these great results, Deepika has ended the year 2011 in the 5th spot of the World Ranking – and she will clearly be among the favourites to shine in 2012.

  Biography Extract:   Deepika KUMARI (IND) – Born 13 June 1994   2nd Individual World Cup Final Istanbul 2011 1st Team World Cup Shanghai 2011 3rd Individual World Cup Shanghai 2011 3rd Team World Junior Championships Legnica 2011 1st Individual World Junior Championships Legnica
2011 2nd  Mixed Team World Cup Ogden 2011 2nd Team World Cup Ogden 2011 2nd Individual World Cup Ogden 2011 2nd Team World Archery Championships Turin
2011 3rd Team World Cup Antalya 2011 1st  Team Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 1st Individual Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 2nd Individual World Cup Shanghai 2010 2nd Team World Cup Ogden
2010 1st Individual World Cadet Championships Ogden 2009   More results information on Deepika KUMARI and all other archers at the World Archery website.   World Archery Communication