Physically confident Kumari leads Antalya qualification

Indian recurve woman Deepika Kumari scored 672 out of a possible 720 points to lead the ranking round at the second stage of the 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey. She was five points ahead of second-ranked Peng Chia-Mao from Chinese Taipei.

“I know the weather conditions here and I like them. I came here prepared,” said Kumari. “The last World Cup didn’t do so well, but I went home and worked on my technique - and now I’m confident again.”

Kumari finished eighth at the circuit’s opening leg in Shanghai.

She looks visibly thinner than in 2016 and said she had lost around seven kilograms of weight during the winter off-season, since the introduction of a new trainer to the Indian archery team.

“Since the Olympics, I’ve been more focused on physical training. I’m feeling more confident in my physique, and I’ve been able to focus on more sport-specific training. I hope this translates to success in the upcoming World Cups.”

Deepika, a four-time runner-up at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, said qualifying strong was important to develop confidence early in an event: 

“When you have confidence, you shoot strong and cleanly and don’t worry about other things. Staying in the top ranks is important.”

Chinese Taipei’s Peng, Tan Ya-Ting and Le Chien-Ying seeded second to fourth on 667, 666 and 662 points.

Tan and Le were part of the Olympic bronze medal winning trio at Rio, while Peng – a newcomer to the senior squad in 2017 after winning the youth worlds in 2015 – has been widely touted as the next big thing on one of the heavyweight women’s teams.

Kumari’s recurve women’s team seeded fifth, 70 points behind Chinese Taipei, and she and Dhaniram Basumatary ranked second in the mixed team, again behind Chinese Taipei.

The second stage of the 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup runs 6 to 11 June in Antalya, Turkey.