Deepika, Atanu get the feel of the ground at Tokyo

The Indian archery couple got the feel of the archery facilities at the Yumenoshima Park in their first training session on Monday

Tokyo: India’s medal hopefuls in archery, the husband-wife duo of Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari — the mixed team combine at the Tokyo Olympics — got the feel of the archery facilities at the Yumenoshima Park in their first training session here on Monday.

Both were slotted for practice in the first group at the main training facilities on Monday along with dozens of archers from other countries.

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Archery competitions will start on the morning of July 23 with the preliminary round (qualification round) for both individual and mixed team events.

Deepika is in great form, having won three gold medals at the FITA World Cup Stage 3 in Paris last month — claiming titles in women’s individual recurve, women’s team, and mixed team events.

In the women’s individual recurve final, Deepika had defeated Russia’s Elena Osipova on June 27 to capture a third title alongside the women’s and mixed team titles she won earlier in the day.

Tokyo is Deepika’s third Olympics. She had finished eighth in the women’s team event in the 2012 London Olympics and crashed out in the first round in the women’s individual section in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.

The 27-year-old from Ranchi, Jharkhand, is hoping to be third-time lucky in Tokyo.