Atanu Das is one of India's top medal prospects coming into the Tokyo Olympics. The archer is headed into his second Olympic game and has all the momentum going into the competition as he won his first-ever World Cup gold medal in Guatemala. Here are a few things you didn't know about the star archer.
# 1 Atanu Das is married to World No. 1 Deepika Kumari
Atanu Das married his mixed event teammate Deepika Kumari on June 30, 2020. The couple has since then achieved great success, as they both won individual gold at the Archery World cup. Deepika Kumari is currently ranked number 1 in the Women's Recurve category and the couple will be hoping for a finish at the podium as they compete in the Mixed team event.
Tokyo Olympics: Can Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari win medals for India?
# 2 How many titles has Atanu Das won in his career ?
Atanu Das won 3 bronze medals in the 2019 Asian Archery Championship, held in Bangkok. Atanu Das has proven to be a brilliant performer on the world stage as he has amassed a total of 8 medals in World Cups, which include 2 gold medals. He bagged gold in the mixed team event with his wife Deepika Kumari at the World Cup Stage 3, which was the first time the couple had won gold.
Indian archery teams led by Atanu Das & Deepika Kumari get down to business in Paris
# 3 Atanu Das development as an archer
The archer has excelled over the years and has developed to becoming the best in the recurve category. He went to the Tata Archery Academy in 2008 and was coached by Lim Chae Wong. His recent success could be attributed to the fact that he worked tremendously on himself during the lockdown and also forgot about past mishaps in the competitions and moved forward with a positive mindset. Both Atanu Das and wife Deepika Kumari have been consulting a psychologist to keep the mental side of the game under control.
# 4 Atanu Das is an Arjuna Award recipient
Having been in the sports for a long time, Atanu finally received his reward for a great career as he was awarded the Arjuna award in 2020 by the Government of India. His wife Deepika Kumar received this award back in 2012.
# 5 At which position is Atanu Das ranked ?
Atanu Das is ranked 9th in the World Recurve rankings after a splendid display at World Cup Stage 3. Deepika Kumari and Das rose to 4th in the mixed team recurve event. India has send 7 athletes this year to the Olympics as a part of their archery team and they will be hoping to win a medal or two in this event as the team has many talented athletes, who have proven to be great in the sport over the past couple of years.
Also read: Tokyo Olympics last chance for Indian archers (sportskeeda.com)