Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das dropped from TOPS list after unimpressive performances
A file image of Deepika Kumari.
|(Twitter)
In a fresh move, Olympians Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das have been dropped from India's TOP scheme after the duo failed to live up to the expectations at the national archery ranking tournament 2022 earlier in January. The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) takes the decisions related to TOPS.
After a review done recently by the MOC, the husband-wife duo have been removed from the list. Deepika and Atanu have been at the Olympics thrice, but have failed to bag a medal each time. In fact, Deepika is a former world no.1 in recurve, and is also a medalist at the CWG and Asian Games.
Last year, they had won the individual women’s and men’s gold medals at the archery World Cup gold at Guatemala City.
“Considering their below-par performances in the event, MOC decided to not include them in the TOPS list for now,” the sports ministry said.
On the other hand, the duo have taken the decision well, and have vowed to come back 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 Kumari said.
"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," Atanu Das added.
