One of the most heartwarming sights at the Tokyo Olympics was of the husband-wife duo of Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das cheering each other from the stands as both narrowly missed out on that elusive medal in Archery.
Three years on, as India longs for that historic medal again, the 30-year-old Deepika is once again carrying the expectations of a nation in Paris; the 32-year-old Atanu is preparing for his debut as a studio analyst in Mumbai; and their one-and-half-year-old daughter is learning to speak her first words away from her parents’ loving gaze in Kolkata.
Speaking to The Bridge, Atanu said that their lives, fueled by purpose, are now beyond normal.
“What is normal for other parents is not normal for us. It is painful beyond words to not be able to be with our child as she lives her very first years,” said Atanu, who was part of the team which won India a first-ever silver medal at the Asian Games last year, but this time has missed out on the Olympics team.
“Deepika desperately wanted to be by my side at the Asian Games, but she was then staying at home with our child. I told her to rest, that her time would come,” said Atanu.
Deepika has made many comebacks in her career, but what followed in the coming months was the most special of them all.
A memorable return
Returning to the range after two long years – years of depression and self-doubt – Deepika laid down the gauntlet by sweeping medals at the National Games in November 2023, topping the national trials in January this year and winning her first World Cup medal as a mother in April.
She is currently ranked 12th in the world, having once more established herself as India’s leading archer.
Atanu, meanwhile, is preparing to return the long-distance favour from the Asian Games as he rallies behind his wife to finally claim legendary status with an Olympic medal. They have decided on a daily schedule of phone calls – one in the morning and one in the evening – not usually before or after her matches.
“I always believed Deepika would once again climb to the top, even if she herself sometimes used to say she did not have it in her anymore. Delivering a baby plays haywire with your body structure. She worked very hard to regain both her physical and mental fitness,” said Atanu, who calls himself an ‘additional mental trainer’ for her.
The two have always tried to keep their personal and professional lives separate, but the birth of their daughter has complicated things. Archery gave them their identity before this but becoming parents has made them realise that there are more important things in life.
The new parents are looking forward to giving their daughter much more time once the Paris Olympics conclude. Atanu happily talks about when it will be time to get her admitted to school.
Deepika and Atanu have been jointly winning medals for India since 2013, and are still not losing sight of a team Olympic medal within the family.
“I will definitely be fighting to go to the 2028 Olympics. As for Deepika, she will probably take it a little easy for two years before going full tilt again in the next Olympic cycle,” said Atanu.
Archery medal chances in Paris 2024
Despite being among the higher-ranked Archery nations in the world, a medal at the Olympics has always eluded India.
Many archers, including Atanu, have said previously that the pressure that comes with the expectations around the Olympics is often too much to bear. But now in the twilights of their careers, Atanu feels the pressure of a medal on Deepika is not as important as the need to avoid distractions at this final stage.
“Earlier, people used to suddenly fall over each other in talking about us when the Olympics came around every four years (and forget about us in the intervening years) – be it commercial engagements, media coverage – but now things have been improving. Due to social media mostly, there are now actually similar spotlights on Asian Games or World Cups too,” said Atanu.
Donning his analyst’s hat for now, Atanu counts Deepika and Dhiraj Bommadevara as equally capable of clinching an individual medal in Paris, but also looks at the men’s team as a prime contender and does not rule out a women’s team medal either.
“I have been part of the Indian men’s team for more than 14 years, have seen many rises and falls in the graph. The current team is one of the best we have ever had. I count myself as part of this team, we continue training together,” said Atanu, adding that the only possible question mark could be about how Pravin Jadhav deals with pressure situations.
“We are by no means inferior to Korea, anything could happen on the day,” he said about possible gold medal chances.