I was watching the archery finals of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, when I got a notification from my latest archery regional tournament. This was not one of my best scores and it only got me getting top 50 of all my section. I was filled with a deep emotion of despair as I realized the nationals were only a few weeks away from now. If I did badly in this tournament, this might as well crush my dreams of becoming an Olympic archer.
Starting a few years after the pandemic, I had picked up archery as a hobby. Since then, I grew fond of archery and started tournaments and practiced three times a week. Receiving this notification left an engraving on my attitude towards archery and motivated me in this sport. I would train and stay after classes for feedback. I did all I could towards reaching a higher rank in the nationals.
On the day of the nationals tournament, I soothed my feelings and made sure to relax my mind before I started shooting. I was full of anticipation, but remained focused on one single point, the inner gold of the target. In the end, I ended up exceeding my expectations and I placed in the top eleven. I needed to train more if I ever wanted to achieve more ambitious goals. In this event, learned to remain focused and determined, even when presented with difficult tasks
If I ever find myself watching the Olympics again, I am determined not only just to be a spectator, but also an archer shooting down the range in the stadium.
Archery is like any other sport. To excel, you have to have patience, practice, and perseverance.
Deepika Kumari
