Olympian Deepika Kumari To Miss Asian Games, Here’s Why

 

 

India’s archery squad for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, starting from September 19, was finalised on Monday. The biggest headline from the squad is the omission of four-time Olympian Deepika Kumari, who didn’t get a place in the women's recurve team for the event. Former India No. 1 Atanu Das and decorated compound archer Abhishek Verma also missed out on the Asian Games squad after disappointing performances in the selection trials. The four-time Olympian missed the Asian Games cut in the trials conducted at the SAI Centre. The trials were held for selection in the Asian Games squad and the upcoming third and fourth stages of the Archery World Cup. India’s recurve and compound archery squads for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan have been finalized after intense selection trials in Haryana.

 

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Kirti Sharma topped the recurve categories, while seasoned archers Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari narrowly missed out… Deepika managed to retain her place in the Indian World Cup stages but missed out on the continental event, finishing as the fourth-ranked recurve archer. Notably, the trials were held in windy conditions. Teenagers Kirti Sharma and Kumkum Mohod emerged as the biggest positives in the women’s recurve category. Nineteen-year-old Kirti concluded the standings at the top with 13.5 points while Maharashtra’s Kumkum finished in second position.

 

Olympian Ankita Bhakat grabbed the third and final Asian Games spot, overtaking Deepika Kumari in a shoot-off.

This will be the second consecutive Asian Games that Deepika will miss the squad.