Paris setback keeps me pushing harder

Dhiraj Bommadevara is being sought after by fans and volunteers for selfies at the archery arena here. Dhiraj heeds to their requests with a smile after his match.

- Avishek Roy

DEHRADUN: Dhiraj Bommadevara is being sought after by fans and volunteers for selfies at the archery arena here. Dhiraj heeds to their requests with a smile after his match. The only other archer to garner such attention is Deepika Kumari. But Dhiraj, after his showing in Paris, is in a similar space.

At the biggest stage of the world, Dhiraj and Ankita Bhakat came close to winning India's first archery medal at the Olympics only to eventually finish a devastating fourth. The duo lost 2-6 to the USA in the mixed team bronze medal match. In the individual round, Dhiraj went down to Canada's Eric Peters in the second round by the tiniest of margins - he lost the shoot-off by the distance of arrows from the centre.

For an athlete, it may be difficult to comprehend such defeats but Dhiraj doesn't want to forget. The pain of finishing fourth still lingers because he wants to carry the cross. "I keep reminding myself in every match, every practice session and with every arrow I shoot how close I was to that Olympic medal. It is to push myself ahead one step at a time," Dhiraj told HT.