Deepika Kumari played entire Tokyo Olympics under pressure, says physio

Star archer's physio Dr Yadav feels the expectations of a medal at Tokyo Games was the reason behind her and husband Atanu Das's poor performance; lauds boxer Rani's hard work

India's star archer Deepika Kumari has accepted that she buckled under pressure at Tokyo Olympics. Her physio Dr Arvind Yadav, who is working with the Indian archery team since 2013, told www.mid-day.com that like everyone, even he was dejected that they were unable to live up to expectations and the pressure of performing at the quadrennial event was clearly visible. 
 
Deepika was unable to live up to her World No. 1 ranking and finished at ninth position in the individual ranking round. She lost to Korean An San 0-6 in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Deepika's husband Atanu Das, who is India No. 1, did raise medal hopes when he beat Olympic champion Oh Jin-Hyek of South Korea 6-5 in the 1/98 eliminations to advance to the 1/8 eliminations. In the qualification round, Das was 35th. Das was unable to keep the momentum going in the 1/8 elimination against Japanese archer Takaharu Furukawa and lost 4-6 bringing an end to his 2020 Olympics campaign.

Dr Arvind Yadav with Atanu Das

"If you set a goal and it isn’t achieved though you are capable of doing it, then it hurts the most. I am not satisfied with their performances and it hurt me a lot. Deepika played the entire Olympics under pressure. They [Deepika and Atanu] need to work on their weakness and come back stronger for future events and Olympics. They are strong and I am sure they will bounce back. I had great hope from both Deepika and Atanu to come back with medals. But during ranking rounds, Atanu failed to be in the Top 8. In the individual event, he was much stronger and better than the last Olympics. But he was down against Japan's Takaharu [Furukawa]," Yadav told mid-day.com.

India's Pooja Rani during the Tokyo Olympics. PIC/AP, PTI

Meanwhile, Yadav, who has been also treating boxer Pooja Rani for the past year, praised the Indian pugilist for her dedication. Rani lost to China's Li Qian in the quarter-finals of the 75kg category at the Tokyo Games. Earlier this year, Rani registered a 5-0 win over Mavluda Movlonova of Uzbekistan to win the first gold medal for India at the Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Dubai. "Pooja had some niggles in her left elbow before the Olympics. I helped her with her rehabilitation in March and April. This has resulted in her performing well at the Asian Championships and the Olympics. I found Pooja one of the most hardworking and goal-oriented," he said.

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