Motherhood could have cost Olympian Deepika, husband Atanu wouldn’t let it

New mom Muscle stiffness Fitness struggles Former World No 1 Threetime Olympian Strong revival within 19 months of delivery Deepika Kumari has gameAnd if it werenrsquot for her archer husband Atanu Dasrsquo steadfast backing she would not have come this farMost of all he saw possibilityldquoI had never stopped believing in Deepika During this whole time she would break down almost every day and say things like lsquoI have to quit archeryrsquo lsquoI canrsquot do it any longerrsquo and everything is over for me nowrsquo I had to take care of both Vedika daughter and her I always pushed her motivating her to excel I canrsquot put it into words now It took a lot of time but we knew she would make a strong comeback one dayrdquo Das who missed out on the Olympic team this year told MidDayHe continued ldquoAfter her gold in the Goa National Games November 2023 she began getting her confidence back She is in fine form right now I keep telling her to keep the pressure at bayhellipthat lsquoyou have achieved a lot in all these years there is nothing to prove to anyone today so there is no pressurersquordquoAlso ReadMidDay 45th Anniversary Special Team Indias iconic T20 World Cup 2024 triumphPerhaps then Das can heave a little sigh of relief after India by virtue of their fourth rank secured a direct berth in the womenrsquos team event on Thursday positioning themselves merely two rounds away from contention for a podium finish Ankita Bhakat secured 11th spot in the individual ranking round achieving a score of 666 while Bhajan Kaur settled in the 22nd position Meanwhile Deepika orchestrated a notable comeback finishing 23rd after initially occupying the 37th position during the early phase of the eventHis perseverance with her help meant guiding India to its firstever silver medal at the 2023 Asian Games in menrsquos recurve team event by bettering the twin bronze won in 2006 Doha and 2010 GuangzhouHer perseverance with his help has instead turned her into the favourite to win a medal in the individual event this year which could be Indiarsquos first Olympic medal in this disciplineldquoWe speak every day on the phone I was with her when her training kicked into high gear I saw her pushing her body to its limits and testing her mental ability to deal with the stress and pressure that comes with representing the country on the biggest global stage I am rooting for her in the individual eventrdquo said AtanuNot even 10 years ago it was all but unthinkable that a mother who had put her body through childbirth could make waves again in the field of sports But the difficult moments were when it helped the most to have each others support as the 32yearold puts itAlso ReadMidDay 45th Anniversary Special AIyo cricket tooParis 2024 is significant for Deepika in many ways She could leave the Games having made history However among other things this is the first Olympics that she will compete in as a motherIf she indeed medals in Paris her daughter Vedika may be too small to comprehend the outcome of her motherrsquos achievement but for both Deepika and Atanu it would be a fantasy come to life ldquoShe doesnrsquot make a fuss but is very naughty Staying apart from parents at this age is never okay but we are no ordinary parents I think she is coping well given her age Itrsquos like a fulltime job it gets too tough sometimes laughsrdquo he chuckled heartilyDeepika has had two previous attempts in London 2012 and Rio 2016 to secure maiden Olympic archery gold for India falling short both times However she believed Tokyo would be different She had the ball rolling that year clinching two gold in the Archery World Cup Stage I in April followed by a hattrick of gold medals at the prestigious Stage III event in Paris Despite having surpassed her past Olympic performances by reaching the top eight she suffered a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals to top seed An San of Korea who defeated the Indian 60Devastated by the defeat Deepika came to find solace in knowing she was not alone in her struggles But Das too failed to live up to the expectations and was brought to his knees by Japans Furukawa TakaharuldquoI think the menrsquos team has a good chance of bringing us a medal Womenrsquos team is good as well so if they both manage to win this time it is even better In individual events I am rooting for my wife and Dhiraj Bommadevarardquo he saidA medal would be nice but by simply stepping foot in Paris after all that she had to go through mdash with her 19monthold daughter and the whole world watching Deepika you have already won