Rude behaviour from members of the electronic media marred the felicitation function of the gold-winning archers here on Tuesday with Deepika Kumari breaking into tears, says a report in The Hindu, adding that Deepika, the star of the Indian women’s recurve archery team that won the gold at the Wroclaw World Cup in Poland, along with Rimil Buruily and L. Bombayla Devi, was much in demand during the media interaction at the residence of Archery Association of India (AAI) president V.K. Malhotra.
“However, things escalated when the TV channels demanded individual interviews and Deepika was left a distressed individual amidst a crowd of ‘admirers’. Hungry for more, the news channels persisted with their relentless questioning at the felicitation and demanded one-on-one interviews. One cameraman followed every move of the archers, forcing Deepika to request him to move away even as she had breakfast with the team coach,” says the report addingthat instead of acceding to the request, the cameraman taunted the 18-year-old, saying Deepika should actually be grateful for such media coverage.
“Things went out of hand when a reporter accused Deepika of being arrogant by refusing to talk individually to everyone. That’s when Deepika broke down,” added the report.
Meanwhile a report in The Times Of India says that media pressure for exclusive soundbytes left world champion archer Deepika Kumari in tears after a felicitation ceremony in the national capital on Tuesday.
“Deepika Kumari who led India to gold medal win in team event in the recently concluded world cup was seen begging for privacy while reporters demanded for an exclusive interview. The trio of Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Rimil Buriuly won back-to-back World Cup titles defeating South Korea in the final at Poland's Wroclaw on Sunday,” said the report.
In an interview to DNA, Deepika said that beating South Korea wasn't easy. “The Koreans have always been the best team in the world. It was certainly not easy for us. A strong wind was blowing during the finals. But all of us (Rimil Biruly and Laishram Bombayala Devi) gave our best without feeling any kind of pressure. The Koreans found it hard to match our intensity and performance,” said Deepika, adding that though they were doing under Indian coach (Limba Ram), but after Lim Chae Woong took over, they have improved in certain areas, especially the psychological aspect. “And I must say Woong’s experience and pressure-handling tactics have helped us a great deal.”