Ankita Bhakat had returned from the Paris Olympics with a bouquet of brickbats. She had wildly misfired a horror shot of 4, then an ill-timed 7 in the bronze medal match, after a pair of insufficient 10s against Koreans in semis, and had ended with a 4th place finish in mixed team alongside Dhiraj Bommadevara. It was India’s best performance in Archery at the Olympics, but a no-medal was as good as nothing, and the Indian archers copped all the usual criticism.
But one thing had been evident to all coaches at the India camp: Ankita had no fear of Koreans, those serial champions of the sport. She followed a particular mindset that kept her alert when she faced off against them, but it never left her paralysed with nerves.
At the archery Asian Championship in Dhaka, the 27-year-old from Kolkata stood at the finals station, ready as ever against Korean Nam Suhyeon. She wasn’t aware that it was the Paris Olympics silver medallist she was up against. “Actually I had forgotten she had silver. When the coach reminded me just before finals, I thought, ‘Achha, yeh silver medallist bhi hai. Chalo theeke.’ The thing is, all Koreans are equally dangerous, so I always go in expecting a tight match,” she recalled.
It ended in a five-set 7-3 win as Ankita took the first and fourth sets 29-27 and 29-28 respectively, drew the second 26-26 and soaked up the Korean defiance in the third that she lost 26-28.
In the deciding fifth, Ankita needed a 9 on the last shot, and Indian Archery is riddled with countless instances of messing up the crucial arrow. Ankita herself had shot a few condemning 7s. “In the last round I had a couple of 10s and was shooting well. But needed 9 on the final. Of course I thought of the 7s that had cost us medals. But I simply told myself ‘no more 7’. I recalled my process and calmly shot the 9,” she said.
Olympics misses have no redemption, really. They are the difference between a sport taking off or being reduced to the periphery. “At some point, you realise, revisiting the misses makes life worse. I was bored with being miserable. I decided to focus on my shooting and used the mindset. With Koreans, they never give you a chance. They are always good. So I decided I’ll be better than their good,” says the Kolkata archer, who’s helped her father rest a little, not having to wake up at 4 am to run their milk dairy.
It had been a quiet year for the fearless archer who shoots with an eye-popping string tension of 44 on her bow – needing serious muscle-strength pull. “I was a little upset because I didn’t have a single medal from World Cups this year. Coach Purnima Mahato had told me before landing in Dhaka that ‘enough of team medals, bohot ho gaye, now you need to win an individual medal’,” she said.
Story continues below this ad
Fellow Kolkatan, coach Rahul Banerjee had tweaked her techniques a bit, as had Tata coaches Mahato and Prasanna Kumar. “Technically, mentally, I had to improve. I told myself I’ve come this far in the final, and that I have been shooting well, so there’s no reason to get tensed in the final and shoot badly. I was good,” she said confidently.
Earlier, she had edged out Deepika Kumari in the semis, after both shot 5-5 and her shootoff 9 was millimeters closer to the centre than Deepika’s. Dhiraj Bommadevara too would silence his Olympic demons, winning gold. India swept the Recurve finals, as he defeated compatriot Rahul, after downing Jang Chae-hwan.
Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball.
Professional Profile
Role: Assistant Editor and Columnist at The Indian Express.
Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics.
Writing Style: Her work is characterized by "technical storytelling"—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides "long reads" that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium.
Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025)
Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond:
Indian Badminton's "Hulks": She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized by power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style.
PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her "sparkle" and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps.
The "Group of Death": In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals.
Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of "backhand deception" in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas.
Legacy and History: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing historical context to current Indian successes.
Notable Recent Articles
BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025)
The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025)
Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025)
Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025)
Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025)
Other Sports Interests
Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith's dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts.
You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. ... Read More
