Deepika Kumari (born 13 June 1994) is an Indian professional archer. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the women's individual recurve event. She also won a gold there in the women's team recurve event with Dola Banerjee and Bombayala Devi.[3] She won individual gold in two of the three stages of the World Cup—one in Guatemala and another in Paris. In the process she also reclaimed the number one ranking after nine years[4] at the Paris World Cup.[5] Deepika won individual gold medals at the Archery World Cup Stage 1.[6] She defeated Mexico by 5–1 in the final to win the gold in Paris.[7]
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Ratu Chatti, Ranchi, Bihar (present-day Jharkhand), India | 13 June 1994
Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) |
Weight | 56 kg (123 lb) |
Spouse | Atanu Das[1] |
Sport | |
Country | India |
Sport | Archery |
Club | Tata Archery Academy |
Team | Indian Archery Women Team |
Turned pro | 2006 |
Achievements and titles | |
Highest world ranking | 1[2] |
Medal record |
Kumari qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where she competed in the Women's Individual and Women's team events, finishing in eighth place in the latter.[8]
She was conferred the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award, in the year 2012 by then-President of India Pranab Mukherjee.[9] In February 2014, she was honored with FICCI Sportsperson of the Year Award.[10] The Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2016.[11]
Early life
editDeepika Kumari was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand) to Shiv Charan Mahato, an auto-rickshaw driver, and Geeta Mahato, a nurse at Ranchi Medical College, and a native of Ratu Chatti village, 15 km from Ranchi.[12] She belongs to a Kudmi Mahato family.[13][14]
As a child, she practised aiming for mangoes with stones.[15] During her early days it was difficult for her parents to financially support Deepika's dream, often compromising on the family budget to buy her new equipment for her training; as a result, Deepika practised archery using homemade bamboo bows and arrows. Deepika's cousin Vidya Kumari, then an archer residing at Tata Archery Academy, helped her develop her talent.
Career
editDeepika made her first breakthrough in 2005 when she entered the Arjun Archery Academy at Kharsawan, an institute set up by Meera Munda, wife of Jharkhand's chief minister Arjun Munda. But her professional archery journey began in the year 2006 when she joined the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur.[16] It was here that she started her training with both the proper equipment as well as a uniform. She also received ₹500 as a stipend. Deepika returned home once in her first three years there, only after having won the Cadet World Championship title in November 2009.[17] Kumari has long been seen as the one to finally get India its first medal in archery.[18]
Personal life
editDeepika married archer Atanu Das on 30 June 2020.[19][20][21] Their daughter, Vedika, was born in December 2022.[22]
Achievements
editDeepika became the second Indian to win the title after Palton Hansda won the junior compound competition at the 2006 Archery World Cup in Mérida, Mexico.[23]
She won the 11th Youth World Archery Championship held in Ogden, Utah, United States in 2009, at the age of fifteen. She also won a gold medal in the same competition in the women's team recurve event, alongside Dola Banerjee and Bombayala Devi.
At the Delhi Commonwealth games 2010, Deepika won two gold medals, one in the individual event and the other in the women's team recurve event. For this, she was honoured with the Outstanding Performance at CWG (Female) Award at the 2010 Sahara Sports Awards ceremony.
Later at the Asian Games of 2010, held in Guangzhou, China, Deepika missed out on a medal after she lost to Kwon Un Sil of North Korea in the bronze-medal play-off of the women's individual archery event. But as a part of the Indian archery recurve team, along with Rimil Buriuly and Dola Banerjee, Deepika edged out Chinese Taipei 218–217 in the bronze play-off to ensure a podium finish at the Aoti Archery Range.
In May 2012, Deepika Kumari won her first World Cup individual stage recurve gold medal at Antalya, Turkey. She beat Korea's Lee Sung-Jin by six set points to four in the final.[24] Later in 2012, she would go on to become world no. 1 in Women's Recurve Archery. In London Olympics 2012, Deepika Kumari lost against Amy Oliver of Great Britain in the opening round, attributing a relatively poor performance to fever and high winds.[25][26]
On 22 July 2013, she won the gold medal in Archery World Cup stage 3 held at Medellin, Colombia where India finished fourth.[27] On 22 September 2013, Deepika lost 4–6 to Yun Ok-Hee of South Korea & settled for silver medal in 2013 FITA Archery World Cup. This was her 3rd Silver medal in as many appearances in the World Cup Final.[28]
In 2014, Deepika was featured by Forbes (India) as one of their '30 under 30'.[26] However, she failed to make the Indian team for 2014 after finishing outside the top 4 at the national qualifications.[29]
In 2015, Deepika's first medal came at the second stage of the World Cup, where she won a bronze in the individual event. At the World Championships in Copenhagen, she won a team silver along with Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil Buriuly, after narrowly losing out on a gold in a match against Russia which they conceded 4–5 in a shoot-off. In the latter half of this year, she won the silver medal in the World Cup final. In November 2015, she won a bronze medal in the Asian Championships with Jayanta Talukdar in the Recurve Mixed Team event.
In April 2016, at the first stage of the World Cup in Shanghai, Deepika equaled the Ki Bo-bae's world record of (686/720) in the women's recurve event.[30][31]
Deepika Kumari was the part of the team that qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics.[32] The Indian women's recursive team, consisting of Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi Laishram and Laxmirani Majhi, finished 7th in the ranking round. The team won their match against Colombia in the round of 16 before losing the quarterfinal match against Russia.[33]
In the women's Individual archery, Deepika Kumari produced a stellar performance in the round of 64 against Kristine Esebua of Georgia. Deepika won this round with a score of 6–4. In the next round, Deepika had a much-easier outing against Guendalina Sartori of Italy. Deepika started badly and lost the first round but won the next three to ease through 6–2 in the end.[34] However, in the round of 16, Deepika went down to Taipei's Tan Ya-ting with a score of 0 against 6.[35]
In November 2019, Deepika Kumari secured an Olympic quota at the Continental Qualification Tournament being held on the sidelines of the 21st Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok.[36] Deepika Kumari India won 3 gold medals in the Archery's World Cup Stage 3 tournament in Paris 2021.[37] She thus recorded the 13th triple gold and became the 11th archer to achieve the feat – in the 15-year history of the Hyundai Archery World Cup.
In popular culture
editA biographical documentary called Ladies First, released in 2017, was made by Uraaz Bahl and his wife Shaana Levy-Bahl.[16] The movie won at the London Independent Film Festival and was screened at the Mallorca Film Festival in October 2017. Ladies First has also been submitted for the Short Documentary category at the Academy Awards.[citation needed]
This documentary was also screened for Maneka Gandhi, the Union Cabinet Minister for Women and Child Development, with an aim to increase awareness about women in sports in India.[38]
Awards
editYear | Award | Notes |
---|---|---|
2012 | Arjuna Award | |
2014 | FICCI Sportsperson of the Year Award | |
2016 | Padma Shri | |
2017 | Young Achievers Award | Felicitated by Vogue[39] |
Individual performance timeline
editTournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2024 | SR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
World Archery tournaments | |||||||||||||
Olympic Games | 1R | 3R | QF | 0/3 | |||||||||
World Championships | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 0/5 | |||||||
World Cup | |||||||||||||
Stage 1 | 3R | QF | 2nd | 3R | QF | QF | 4R | W | 2nd | 3/9 | |||
Stage 2 | QF | 3R | W | 2R | 3R | 3rd | 4th | QF | 4th | 2/8 | |||
Stage 3 | 3R | 2nd | QF | 4R | 4R | W | 4R | W | 3/7 | ||||
Stage 4 | 2nd | 3rd | QF | 3rd | QF | 3rd | 4R | 3/7 | |||||
World Cup Final | QF | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | DNQ | 2nd | DNQ | DNQ | 3rd | DNQ | 4th | 5/7 |
References
edit- ^ "Archers Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das Tie The Knot, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren Attends Wedding". news18.com. 1 July 2020. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ^ "India's Deepika Kumari becomes World No. 1 archer". NDTV. 21 June 2012. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ "Athlete of the Week: Deepika KUMARI (IND)". Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ Singh, Suhani (29 June 2021). "Why archer Deepika Kumari is a serious medal contender in the Tokyo Games". India Today. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Deepika's Hat-trick Gold Medals at WC". gulte. 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Archery World Cup: Star couple Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari win individual recurve gold medals". India Today. 26 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Archery World Cup: Indian women's recurve team beat Mexico to win gold in Paris". India Today. 27 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ Deepika Kumari Archived 1 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine - London 2012 Olympics athlete profiles
- ^ "Khel Ratna award for Vijay, Yogeshwar". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012.
- ^ "FICCI announces the Winners of India Sports Awards for 2014". news.biharprabha.com. Indo-Asian News Service. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ "Padma Awards 2016". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Eyes on Deepika Kumari as India hopes for first archery medal at Rio". hindustantimes. 23 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "History of Archer Deepika Kumari, early life, and achievments". historyclasses. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Ace archer Deepika Kumari gets Padma Shri, takes a bow". Hindustantimes. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Deepika Kumari: From mangoes to CWG gold",[dead link] The Siasat Daily, 10 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ a b "This film captures the inspiring journey of Olympic archer Deepika Kumari". VOGUE India. Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
- ^ "Father accepts Deepika has proved him wrong" Archived 27 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine, The Hindustan times, 11 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ^ Singh, Suhani (30 June 2021). "Why archer Deepika Kumari is a serious medal contender in the Tokyo Games". India Today. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Deepika Kumari, Atanu Das to get married on June 30". The Hindu. 27 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ "Archers Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das tie the knot in Ranchi on Tuesday". thebridge. 30 June 2020. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ "Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das got married". Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "Paris Olympics 2024 Day 2: Deepika Kumari's mother gets emotional;".
- ^ "Archery champion Deepika, an inspiration for the youth". Thaindian.com. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
- ^ "Deepika Kumari wins first World Cup title". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 6 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ "Deepika Kumari crashes out to end Indian challenge in archery". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Deepika Kumari: Targeting Gold". dna. 19 February 2014. Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ "Deepika shoots gold in archery World Cup". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 22 July 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ^ "Deepika Kumari settles for silver in Archery World Cup Final". dna. 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- ^ "KUMARI not in India's Shanghai squad". dna. 2 April 2014. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
- ^ "Deepika Kumari Equals World Record in Shanghai". World Archery Federation. worldarchery.org. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ^ "Deepika Kumari equals world record at Archery World Cup - Times of India". The Times of India. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ^ "2016 Rio Olympics: Indian men's archery team faces last chance to make cut". Zee News. 11 June 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "India women's archery team of Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi, Bombayla Devi lose quarter-final against Russia". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "Rio 2016 - Archers and boxer Manoj Kumar dazzle, while Jitu Rai falters". 10 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari bow out of Rio 2016 Olympics". The Indian Express. 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ "Take a bow! Deepika Kumari secures Olympic quota with gold". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ Minnette, Lucas. "Deepika Kumari Net Worth 2021 – Income, Cars, Husband & Career". Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Archer Deepika Kumari Asks Some Difficult Questions on India's Hypocrisy About Women in Sports". Huffington Post India. 14 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ "Mithali Raj, women's cricket captain, archer Deepika Kumari win Vogue awards". Hindustan Times. 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
External links
edit- Deepika Kumari at World Archery
- Deepika Kumari at Olympics.com
- Deepika Kumari at Olympedia
- Deepika Kumari at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
- Deepika Kumari at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Ladies First at IMDb