“Work smart, do the right thing, stay honest and be grounded, always” — that is Atanu Das’s mantra for success — the mantra which has taken Atanu, one of India’s leading male archers, where he is today. And that is his advice for GeneratioNext.

Atanu, one of the trio of recurve archers (the other two being Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav), qualified for the Tokyo Olympics when the Indian team finished second behind China at the World Championships in s’Hertogenbosch (Netherlands) in June. During the match against Canada for an Olympic berth, Atanu had to hit a perfect 10 with his last arrow to level the set and win the contest. He did not lose his composure and signed off with a 10.

And now, Atanu has his eyes only on the Olympics.

How is he preparing for it? “Right now, I am practising for 8-10 hours a day,” Atanu told The Telegraph.

At Rio Olympics, Atanu had performed creditably, reaching the pre-quarters before losing a very tight contest to South Korea’s Seungyun Lee. But all that is behind him now. “Mentally I am a more mature and stronger person now,” he said. “And that is primarily how I’ve changed since Rio — mentally.”

Hence a big part of his preparation includes taking the help of a sport psychologist.

Exactly how does a sports psychologist help? “The role of a psychologist is to help overcome performance anxiety and help in performance enhancement,” says sports psychologist Anusheela Brahmachary. “Often a person’s mind cannot keep up with one’s body. This hinders performance.

“To train one’s mind is as important as it is to train one’s body. Lack of confidence when it matters most can bring to nought months of hard training,” she adds.

To come back to Atanu, prior to Tokyo, he will be taking part in “a few World Cups and the Asian Championship in Bangkok in November.”

And would he be training overseas? Pat comes the reply from the 27-year-old archer, who has recently been included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS): “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

On August 8, the Archery Association of India (AAI) was de-recognised by World Archery (WA) for defying its guidelines. However, the WA said on August 10, it was willing to lift the suspension ‘conditionally’ by the end of the month, but only if a clear roadmap is established. Like all archers, this state of affairs saddens Atanu. “I hope it will be settled positively and soon,” he crosses his fingers.

Last but by no means the least, we come to his fiancee Deepika Kumari, India’s best-known female archer. Deepika and Atanu got engaged last year. A former world No. 1, Deepika is targeting Olympic qualification through the Asian Championships.

Does it help that both of them are from the same sport? “It sure does help that both of us are from the same discipline. We watch each other’s games minutely and advise and motivate each other.

“It is a bigger help at times when either of us has not performed well and need a mental boost.”

But when do the wedding bells ring? “We haven’t finalised the date yet. For now, its Target Tokyo for me,” Atanu concludes.