Ace archer Deepika Kumari today said she had expected a Padma Shri award, but not so early and assured the country to put her best in the Rio Olympic games.
After hoisting the national flag to mark the 67th Republic Day at the Tata Steel works here, Managing Director of the company T V Narendran and Deepika cut a cake to celebrate the feat.
Later talking to reporters, 21-year-old Deepika, who was undergoing training at the Tata Archery grounds in the JRD Tata sports complex here, said she had expected a Padma Shri award, but certainly not so early as she was too young for the award.
A Tata Steel official and also a cadet of Tata Archery Academy, Deepika said her focus was now solely on the Rio games and on winning medals for the country.
"All along I had tried my best in any championship and not to return empty handded," she said expressing her appetite to win medals.
"I have been working hard to rectify the mistakes I had committed in the last edition of the mega event. I was not fully prepared and could not handle the situation properly in the last edition of the Olympics," she admitted while assuring she had gained experience and was confident enough to put her best.
To a query about her nearest possible rival in Rio, Deepika said it was difficult to guess as all the teams taking part in the games would be the best ones.
"However, I expect a tough competition from Korea and China," she said.
Deepika had won a silver at the Archery World Cup Finals, besides bronze medals at the World Cup Stage II and the Asian Team Championships.
She had also won the team silver along with Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil Buriuly in the World Championships.
