Ace archer and Jharkhand’s pride, Deepika Kumari yet again made her presence felt to the world. Deepika won a gold medal in the women’s re-curve event at the World Cup (Stage III) after a gap of six years beating Germany’s Michelle Kroppen by 7-3. Deepika’s last victory at a World Cup stage event came after six years. Earlier, she had clinched gold in 2012 in Antalya. This grand victory has made her the finalist for the Circuit Final to be held later this year.
Overwhelmed with her success, Chief Minister Raghubar Das congratulated the ‘Golden Girl’ for her victory. The communiqué released from the Chief Minister’s Office reads, “We are all proud of you. Not just Jharkhand but the entire nation is proud of you. Keep registering such glorious achievement on your name. We wish for your success in all your endeavors. May you achieve great heights.”
Deepika’s victory at this grand event at Salt lake City, USA is being considered as a curtain raiser by the experts for an ultimate show – Olympics 2018 to be held in PyeongChang, South Korea. Sushil Verma of Sports Authority of India (SAI) – Jharkhand stated that this is a phenomenal victory registered by the Ace Archer.
“Her victory depicts that she is in correct form right now after her serious shoulder injury. A few months back, when I spoke to her, she was sounding quite confident about her upcoming events. She also stated that all her performance will be a curtain raiser for the grand finale – Olympics 2018. She has been practising quite hard since the last Olympic to get into the form,” said Verma of SAI.
Notably, Deepika is a four-time World Cup final silver medalist. She had won the title in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. The Archery World Cup Final in Samsun, Turkey will be her seventh outward show at the season-ending event.
Meanwhile, her victory at an international forum has again brought smile and a sense of pride among the people (Fans) of her home-town - Ranchi.
Besides the experts and eminent persons, several sports enthusiasts celebrated Deepika’s much awaited and needed win at the International domain with much zeal and enthusiasm. “Not just the State but entire nation was waiting for something like this. This is a proud moment. The victory at the world level has now increased our confidence on Deepika that is going to perform definitely well in the Olympics,” said Meenakshi Saha, a student.