Dehradun: Dhiraj Bommadevara is being wanted by followers and volunteers for selfies on the archery area right here. Dhiraj heeds to their requests with a smile after his match. The one different archer to garner such consideration is Deepika Kumari. However Dhiraj, after his displaying in Paris, is in an analogous house.
Dhiraj Bommadevara competes throughout the rating spherical of males’s archery occasion on the Paris Olympics. (PTI)
On the greatest stage of the world, Dhiraj and Ankita Bhakat got here near profitable India’s first archery medal on the Olympics solely to ultimately end a devastating fourth. The duo misplaced 2-6 to the USA within the combined workforce bronze medal match. Within the particular person spherical, Dhiraj went right down to Canada’s Eric Peters within the second spherical by the tiniest of margins — he misplaced the shoot-off by the gap of arrows from the centre.
For an athlete, it could be troublesome to understand such defeats however Dhiraj doesn’t wish to overlook. The ache of ending fourth nonetheless lingers as a result of he needs to hold the cross.
“I keep reminding myself in every match, every practice session and with every arrow I shoot how close I was to that Olympic medal. It is to push myself ahead one step at a time,” Dhiraj instructed HT.
He added: “When you are so close to the target but you are not able to fulfil it, it gives you more pain. I can feel it every day that I am carrying that burden. It makes me push myself on the field, in my sessions. Of course it’s not a good feeling when you look back. But I am someone who cannot ignore anything — whether it is pain or fear. I would rather face it and fight it.”
India gained six medals on the Olympics, however as luck would have it there have been six fourth place finishes together with that of Dhiraj and Ankita. When a podium end on the Olympics is so shut, it isn’t straightforward to dwell with it day by day.
“If you forget it then it doesn’t mean anything to you. Everyone obviously has their own way to deal with things. I am very lucky to finish fourth in the Paris Olympics but I know I am carrying that burden so that I am able to get better — mentally, physically and technically. That goes for every Indian archer. They need to draw lessons and look ahead.”
Over time Indian archery has proven a lot promise however come the Olympics, the archers falter. Dhiraj was a part of the lads’s workforce that gained silver on the 2023 Asian Video games in Hangzhou and gold on the Shanghai World Cup 4 months earlier than the Paris Olympics. Dhiraj had a person bronze at Antalya World Cup and likewise bagged bronze medals in combined workforce each in Shanghai (with Ankita) and Antalya (Bhajan Kaur).
Dhiraj feels internet hosting massive occasions at residence may very well be a technique of constructing the archers conversant in the massive stage.
“The Olympics is billed as the biggest tournament not only for Indians but for everyone. The stage is huge. No other tournament has such a level. In other countries, there are tournaments where they try to simulate such an environment with spectators and podiums.”
“If you see the countries that win in the Olympics, they have also hosted World Cups several times. Like Turkey they host it every year, or China — Shanghai is a regular host. Same goes for the USA and France. The players in the team get good exposure while other players watch the top archers and get to experience the high level.
“We need to host some of these big events. We are getting a lot of support from the Archery Association of India. The facilities have improved and there are discussions underway to bring the top tournament at home, which is a step towards the right direction.”
Dhiraj is worked up to rejoin with Korean coach Kim Hagyong who has performed a major function early in his profession. He’ll practice with him on the Military Sports activities Institute in Pune.
It isn’t solely on the Olympics however there have been events the place Dhiraj has been unable to carry his nerves ending near the rostrum, and due to this fact he’s keen to interrupt this pattern now.
“Even in some World Cups I have finished fourth or fifth. Honestly, that’s not a great feeling. When you lose early, you know you are not capable enough and you have to do a lot of hard work. When you lose so close, you know you are capable but work is needed in certain areas. The Korean coach is coming for this reason.”
“He trained me from 2018-2020 and laid the foundation. He left during COVID. After he left. it was as if there was a pause in my planning in these 2-3 years. This is a year where we can experiment. The focus will be world cups and world championships. I am looking forward to starting afresh with my coach.”