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'There were expectations, but I failed'

 

Deepika Kumari atop the world rankings in women's archery, but failed to deliver when it mattered and was knocked out in the opening round in the women's individual event at the London Olympics on Wednesday.

"There were expectations, but I failed," she said after her event at Lord's cricket ground.

"I am disappointed. It is my first Olympics, so I wanted to get further, but there will be many more," she added.

- London Olympics 2012 - Complete coverage

Deepika went down to Great Britain's Amy Oliver 6-2, failing to hit even a single perfect ten in four sets.

Her exit signaled the end of the India's campaign in the archery even at the Games.

Once again, it was the story too much hype and very little to show!

'Before I could adjust to conditions it was all over'

The 18-year-old Ranchi girl blamed the conditions for her defeat, saying she never experienced such tough winds in her life before.

"The wind was swirling and swirling much faster than I thought. There was a lot of wind and it was swirling a lot and this was the first time I was facing such conditions. It confused me a lot and before I could adjust it was all over," she said.

The fickle British weather also played a part, making it difficult to adjust to conditions, she said, despite the team reaching well in advance.

"We came here early, but we got to practice in the main arena only once. The weather is also changing everyday; sometimes it is windy, sometimes it is raining, sometimes it is sunny. That made it very difficult."

'Need to practice more in windy conditions'

Looking at the positives, Deepika said it was a good learning curve for her, which also helped her gauge her talent among the best archers in the world.

"I have learnt that you do not need to shoot 30 every time. You need to play with a bit of confidence; I realised I need to improve more. I also need to practice more in windy conditions and look to get better as an archer," she said.

Deepika said that the pressure of competing in a prestigious event like the Olympics also added to her woes.

"The Olympic Games are very different from the World Cups because you have just one Olympics is four years, so the pressure is also very different."

Hopeful of doing well in future Olympics

She also pointed out that there are no proper facilities to train in India for such difficult conditions.

"We do not have facilities to train in windy conditions in India, and wherever it is windy, the winds are so strong that it will spoil our archery."

She said time is on her side and she will look to improve as an archer and do well in the future Olympics.

"I will practice more, become more confident and hopefully do better."