Jamshedpur:
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Deepika Kumari on Monday said that long periods of coaching before the just-concluded mega event helped her in achieving her feat.
Deepika thanked Archery Association of India for holding a long coaching camp in Kolkata ahead of the CWG which she said had helped her in her performance.
"I am confident a similar training camp before Olympic Games will help Indian archers to excel," 16-year-old Deepika told reporters after being felicitated by Tata Steel along with other medal winners Rahul Banerjee and Jayanta Talukdar.
She admitted that next month's Asian Games in China will be tougher as top ranking teams like Korea and the host country will be taking part in it.
Asked about her experience during the finals of the CWG in front of a huge home crowd, Deepika said, "I was not at all perturbed by the spectators. It rather boosted my confidence level."
Deepika said she has been developing her shooting skills under Indian coaches (TAA coach Dharmendra Tiwari and Purnima Mahato) and did not have any idea about a foreign coach.
"Yes, I came to know about state archery association contemplating for a foreign coach," she said and added it would be a new experience.