World No.2 Deepika Kumari has failed to make the Indian squad for the upcoming Asian Games, suffering one of the biggest setbacks of her illustrious career.
Deepika lost two of her three round robin matches in the final leg to miss the Asian Games berth at the SAI centre here on Sunday. She finished a lowly fifth in the two-phase eliminations to determine the top eight, as she had to fight in the round robin matches.
This is for the first time since winning a gold medal at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 that Deepika will be out of a multi-discipline showpiece event.
The 27-year-old has represented India at the Asian Games in 2010, 2014 and 2018, winning a team bronze in Guangzhou 12 years ago.
In her senior career since 2009, Deepika’s trophy cabinet is full of World Cup medals, but an Olympic podium finish has eluded the archer. Deepika has won 11 gold medals, 12 silver and seven bronze at the World Cup.
