Rio 2016 | Wind strikes again! Deepika Kumari blames “windy conditions” after loss

08/08/2016

India’s women's archery team comprising Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi, and Laxmirani Majhi failed to deliver when it mattered and once again blamed the wind for their ouster. Speaking about the match, Deepika Kumari said that windy conditions at the Sambodromo were too heavy for them.

India had scraped past Colombia in the Round of 16 event earlier in the day, but all their hopes of a medal came crashing down after they lost out to Russia in the quarters in a shoot-off. Although they lost the first set in the match, they bounced back by claiming the next two to take a lead in the match. However, the Russians took the last round to tie the match at 4-4 before winning the entry to the last four with a shoot-off.

Deepika Kumari, who produced a terrible performance yesterday with 7s and 8s, blamed the heavy wind at the Sambodromo arena for their ouster. Strong southern winds of about 37 km/h were causing troubles to both the teams, but it was India that lost their composure on the day.

It was very windy and was kind of blowing us away," Deepika said blaming it on the wind."

Deepika Kumari

"We tried our best, and all of us gave 100 per cent but it's really disappointing to lose this way, once again. It was very windy and was kind of blowing us away," Deepika said blaming it on the wind, reported PTI.

"We tried our level best and were shooting confidently but somehow we missed the crucial points. It was simply our not day. It was a close match and could have gone either away. It's very hard to digest the loss. The wind was blowing our equipment away and was difficult to target the centre," Deepika reasoned.

While Deepika flopped, it was three-time Olympian Bombayla Devi who saved India the blushes on the day. She consistently managed 10s to keep India in the match, while Laxmirani Majhi also chipped in here and there to take the team forward.

"This two-point loss in the shoot-off will continue to haunt us in future," said Bombayla Devi.

When asked whether India’s poor performance in the ranking round cost them the match, Bombayla Devi played it down citing the example of third-ranked China, who crashed out in the quarters after a defeat to Italy.

"It really does not matter. China qualified as third-ranked team but they also lost. It's always a new target when you are on your mark," Bombayala said.

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