Mumbai, Oct 14: India’s women archers face an uphill task to secure quota places for the Tokyo Olympics, according to former world no.1 Deepika Kumari in individual women’s recurve. Deepika revealed that female archers had worked really hard and were confident of fulfilling the quota before the COVID-19 lockdown.

“We were completely blanked as qualifiers in a month’s time when the lockdown happened, our practice was going really well but then suddenly we had no idea what to do. Right now, we only have one quota spot in the women’s category and only one qualifier is left to secure the two other quota places. Normally we always secure a full quota by this period, but it is different this time around,” two-time world champion Deepika said on Indian table tennis player Mudit Dani’s live online chat show ‘In The Sportlight’.

India have won the full quota in men’s archery through Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das and Pravin Jadhav but Deepika remains the sole quota winner in the women’s category thanks to her gold at the Asian Continental Qualification Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand last year. The remaining two quotas are available to be won at the Paris stage of the Archery World Cup in June next year.

(IANS)