Tokyo 2020, archery: Trying to win an Olympic medal is a battle against myself, says Deepika Kumari

Success at the Tokyo Olympics would be like winning a battle against herself for world number one archer Deepika Kumari, who confessed that she’s nervous to live up to the expectations.

Battling windy conditions, Deepika on Wednesday survived some jittery moments to overcome US teenager Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez 6-4 to keep Indian hopes alive on a day when Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav exited.

“Obviously, I’m nervous. The pressure at the Olympics is at a different level as you put in years of effort to win a medal here. It’s a battle within yourself and I’m trying to win against myself here,” Deepika told Indian reporters here after her hard-fought second round win on Wednesday.

“The pressure of expectation is from yourself only and not from the people as you always want to better your performance.

“You don’t feel the pressure of the people of the country when you shoot here. It does not matter much. It’s your own pressure that often takes a toll. We are always trying to overcome that.”

Deepika had made her Olympics debut in London 2012 as world number one but crashed out of the opening round.

Before Rio 2016 she had raised the expectations once again but only to make a pre-quarter final exit.

“Meri kismat hi kharab hai (I guess…

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