Star archer Deepika Kumari and her husband Atanu Das were on Thursday dropped from the Sports Ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) due to their below-par performances in the national ranking tournament.
The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) last month decided to review support for Deepika, a former World No. 1 recurve archer, and Atanu after the National Ranking Archery Tournament in Hyderabad.
“Considering their below-par performances in the event, MOC decided to not include them in the TOPS list for now,” the Sports Ministry said in a statement.
The archery couple was rated highly after their exploits in the different World Cups, but both Deepika and Atanu have failed to shine at multi-sport events — the latest being the Tokyo Olympics, where much was expected from them but they returned empty-handed.
Their problems compounded after the World Cup Finals in Yankton, USA last October.
The decision was conveyed to the duo by MOC members, SAI and Archery Association of India officials.
Deepika said the TOPS omission will only motivate her to comeback stronger.
“I appreciate that SAI officials informed me before the MOC meeting itself that there was a possibility of me being excluded from the TOP Scheme. I will be motivated to return with good scores in the competitions ahead,” Deepika was quoted as saying in the sports ministry release.
Atanu Das added: “We were very disturbed that we could not get the results we wanted in the Olympic Games. And we took a break from competitive archery after the Olympic Games. I know it is a matter of time before we find the form and get back to where we belong.”
