Paris setback keeps me pushing harder

Seven years ago, we ignited a movement with the launch of the Khelo India School Games (KISG). Today, as I look at how far we've come, I am filled with pride—not just for the medals won, but for the way Khelo India has transformed the very fabric of sports in our nation.

- Mansukh Mandaviya

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.

He added: "When you are so close to the target but you are not able to fulfil it, it gives you more pain. I can feel it every day that I am carrying that burden. It makes me push myself on the field, in my sessions. Of course it's not a good feeling when you look back. But I am someone who cannot ignore anything—whether it is pain or fear. I would rather face it and fight it."

India won six medals at the Olympics, but as luck would have it there were six fourth-place finishes including that of Dhiraj and Ankita. When a podium finish at the Olympics is so close, it is not easy to live with it every day.