With just over a month to go for the Olympics, India’s women archers are confident of putting up a strong show at the Rio Games.
The trio of Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari and Laxmirani Majhi will be representing the country in the women’s event, while the sole representative in the men’s event will be confirmed after the final trials on June 25.
“This will be my third Olympics. So it feels good,” said Bombayla who is the senior-most among the three Rio-bound archers.
“I couldn't do well in Beijing (2008) or in London (2012), where the weather was an issue. I want to do well now and win a medal for India. The team combination looks good and we’re feeling good. I hope our performance too will be better this time around,” she added.
Going into the London Games, Deepika was tipped as a serious medal contender. But a terrible show at the Lord’s saw the former world number one bow out in the opening round of the individual event. “It was really bad. I didn’t expect to lose my first match,” said Deepika at a media interaction at the SAI South Centre on Wednesday.
“After that, I was afraid to shoot for a long time. It was hard to get back into the groove. But I was determined. I had to work really hard, especially on the mental front. But now I am back and hope to put up a good show in Rio,” said the world number 13.
While Bombayla and Deepika have already experienced the Olympic atmosphere in the past, it will be a first time for the 27-year-old Laxmirani who is looking forward to a memorable debut in Rio. “This is my first time and am really excited,” she said. “But having said that I am aware of the expectations that come along. And I’m confident of doing well.”
Having qualified for the Summer Games with a silver-medal show at the World Archery Championships in Copenhagen last year, the Indian team has had enough time to polish their skills ahead of the all-important Olympics. The trio has been competing at various international events, sharpening their skills.
“That’s one advantage of having sealed a quota that early. We got about one year to compete and prepare ourselves for the Games,” stressed Laxmirani.
“The preparations have been good. But having said that, if you ask can we win, all I can say is wait and find out for yourself. We are positive and are going there hoping for a medal. We’ll do what we can. We can hope for a medal, but the medal depends on how well we fare against other teams. We’ll try our best. On the day of the match, we'll give 100%,” she said.