If Deepika wins a gold medal in London Olympics, I will be the proudest father: Shivnarayan Mahato

Deepika Kumari’s father Shivnarayan Mahato, an auto-rickshaw driver, was elated at his daughter’s feat of being crowned as No 1 in World Rankings, but said that they were waiting for a Gold medal in London from her. "When she goes for the Olympics and wins a Gold Medal, that would be the proudest and happiest moment of our life," Mahato said, says a report in The Deccan Chronicle.

Meanwhile a report in The Hindu says that eighteen-year-old archer, Deepika Kumari, has climbed to the top of the World Archery Foundation ranking, ahead of the London Olympics,

Earlier, she was placed third. Deepika, who hails from Ranchi, was felicitated by the Jharkhand government here on Saturday. Deputy Chief Minister Sudesh Mehto honoured her with the Peter Thangraj Award. Deepika’s mentor, Dharmendra Tiwari, said: “We are hopeful that Deepika will win an Olympics medal… She is in her best form, which is why she has a fair chance of winning. Hard work never goes unnoticed.”

Deepika is the current junior world champion and a gold medallist at the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Deepika Kumari won her first World Cup individual recurve gold medal at Antalya, Turkey in May this year beating Korea's Lee Sung Jin by six set points to four in the final.

Meanwhile her mother, Geeta Mahato, recollected Deepika's early days in archery and said that her family had to endure tough financial situations to assist their daughter in her archery ambitions. "We had lot of financial problems. We didn't even get our salaries and payments on time, sometimes in two months or even three months. We somehow used to arrange for the money to assist her in training, sometimes even by taking loans. After the initial three months she started to show positive results and win tournaments, we were satisfied that all our sacrifices have not been in vain," Mahato said, according to Deccan Chronicle report.