I did not know what it meant to be World No. 1, says Deepika Kumari

Ace archer and former World No. 1 Deepika Kumari was in Mumbai for the special screening of her life's documentary 'Ladies First' for the Red Bus children on Women's Day on Thursday. The 23-year-old two-time Olympian speaks exclusively with DNA’s G Krishnan on her career’s ups and downs. Excerpts:

What are you currently up to?

We have been training in Switzerland until recently, preparing for Asian Games and the World Cup (in Turkey). The centre there has good facilities, they have cameras and apps with which you can analyse your shooting and rectify the mistakes.

You became world No. 1 (in 2012) at a young age. What were the pressures of maintaining that rank?

Actually, I did not feel I was world No. 1 then. I realised it later. When I became No. 1, the pressure of Olympics was so much that the ranking did not enter my mind. The focus was on the game and I even forgot I was world No. 1. I was so young, 18 years. I did not know what it meant to be world No. 1.

When did you realise that you were world No. 1?

As years progressed, as you gained experienced and gained more knowledge, you begin to understand the value of rankings and the importance of maintaining it and winning it.

How difficult is it to regain the No. 1 rank?

It is difficult because the level of competition has increased among people. How much ever effort you put in, you have to still work harder. The problem is you are unaware how hard your next opponent is training. You have to work that much harder.

Does the disappointment of not winning Olympic medals in two attempts still hurt you?

Yes, it still hurts because when you work for something and you don’t achieve it, you feel bad. You feel if you are lacking in your training, what you did not do properly because of which you lost it.

In your documentary 'Ladies First', you said you felt like quitting the sport after the 2012 Games disappointment. Do you get frustrated sometimes at not being able to win medals in two Olympics?

There are frustrations. You don’t feel like doing anything. Sometimes you get bored doing the same thing day in and day out. We take rest, keep the mind fresh and then return to the sport, and start fresh. It happens to everyone. If you do the same thing again and again, you get bored. To make things interesting, you have to do something different.

Despite the disappointments, how did you stick to your sport?

My coach and friends helped me a lot. My coach and parents told me that I was too young then and made it to Olympics very early. I took five years – one year to learn and four years of performances before going to the 2012 Olympics. They said, ‘nobody has reached Olympics so early, you are very young and you can work harder and play a lot’.

What was the feeling when you went to the Olympics for the first time?

I did not feel anything. Everything was normal, I felt everything to be the same. In 2012, I did not know Olympics was much greater than the World Cups. No media followed the World Cups, nobody is interested in World Cups. But, in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and World Championships, people get interested. And, when Olympics come, people get over excited and don’t know what to do. I did not understand all these things. With me, it became too much and I could not handle it properly. This was very different. I thought, ‘we are going to play a game but why is it treated differently’.

What do you do when you are not doing archery?

When not into archery, I write the day’s events, listen to music, sleep or go to movies.

You mentioned in the movie that you make few friends. But there must be somebody in the team you are closest to?

There is nothing like I am close to anyone because we train at different centres. We are helpless that we are forced to train at different centres as we don’t like to leave our centres and go to other centres nor do we get permission to do that. We are not allowed to go to other centres as archers work at their centres and cannot leave their work. Their employers don’t give them permission. And, even if we want to train together, there are no proper facilities.

But, if you train together, won’t the Indian team’s performance improve?

Yes, the Indian team’s performance improves. We can sit and discuss ways to improve our performances, what we need and what we don’t need. Planning can be done better.

How is the current coaching scenario?

We need something more as we are not getting the right coach. We started looking for a coach in 2016 and still haven't got because all the experienced coaches have been absorbed by other countries. 

You were seeking a mental conditioning coach as shown in the documentary. Have you got one?

We have got one mental coach but not on a permanent basis who can spend the whole day with us. We have a lot of academies and he needs to be spending a lot of time with us. It does make a difference. I do work with a mental coach from overseas but the problem is that he cannot be with you for 24 hours. But it can rectify a lot of things in sport and in personal life.

Do you follow other sports? Other Indian sportswomen have been excelling in their fields. What do you learn from them?

I don’t follow other sports. But I follow archers from other nations. The equipment, technical, mental fitness are almost similar. Shooting in archery is a mind game and how calm and peaceful they are before a competition, not talking much and staying focused. I pick up these things from them.

You hail from Jharkhand, which is home to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Have you had a chance to interact with him and pick up a few tips?

Yes, have met him a couple of times. Just ‘hi’, ‘hello’.

You have inspired a lot of girls from rural background to take up sports. Do you think the perception has changed and are more and more taking to the sport?

I won’t be able to tell you that as I am not there on social media. I hope they come into sports and that their parents support them to take up sport.

How would you describe Deepika Kumari?

She is a fighter (smiles).