Stardom to obscurity and back again

After displaying her potential in her inaugural tournament by grabbing a gold medal, archer Diya Siddique went AWOL in both domestic and international meets over the past two years before again bursting into the limelight by winning a silver medal from the Archery World Cup in Switzerland along with Bangladesh's top archer, Ruman Sana.

Although Ruman was instrumental in the recurve mixed event, Diya also played a tremendous role as Bangladesh reached their first final on the big stage as well as helping herself break out of a two-year funk, which started in Spain during the 2019 World Archery Youth Championships in Madrid.

Now, on the back of her success in Lausanne, the 11th-grade BKSP student is aiming high in the same event ahead of the Archery World Cup (stage-3) and another competition that will act as a qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics, both in Paris next month.

"After winning a gold medal in the ISSF International Solidarity Championships, I was really dreaming big of going further at the international level but I could not perform in the next two international tournaments the same year. I produced poor scores which were below my expectation during the World Youth Championships in Madrid, lost my momentum and dropped out of sight," Diya told The Daily Star yesterday.

In those World Youth Championships, Diya finished 70th out of 83 competitors with a score of 585 in the qualification round. Her countrywoman Ity Khatun made 637 to finish 28th in the Recurve Junior Cadet event before being ousted 1-7 by Aiko Rolando of Italy in the elimination round.

"Then my confidence really hit a nadir as coaches and I could not figure out the problems that I was facing even though everyone was guessing there might be a problem with shooting. I often missed the target once every six shots. I burst into tears many times because of the problem and went into depression," the 17-year-old said. "Finally, they found that the problem related to finger power and trigger. Then I changed my basics and started shooting faster than before and gradually overcame the issue."

Diya, unearthed through the NSC's 2017 talent-hunt programme, recorded her best-ever score during the Archery World Cup in Switzerland, 634 out of 720, although her overall best score of 649 was made during a trial session. However, the Nilphamari native is inconsistent in the elimination round as established by her average score of 8.74 out of 10. She needs to work that up to an average above nine if she wants to come out of the shadows and firmly establish herself.

"I am still far away from world-class archers. I think I am now a bit behind the world's middle-class archers. I really need to toil hard to get to their level. I have to improve my qualification total to 650-660, which I think is achievable. I also need to gather international experience," said Diya, who is now ranked 216th in the world's women's recurve ranking. "I also have to focus my concentration more during shooting and shrug off the pressure."

Although the teenager initially dreamt of becoming a doctor, she gave up that dream due to archery's demanding training load, which hindered her studies. Diya is now shifting her focus and trying to become an army officer or pursue higher education alongside her archery career.

"My father wants to see me in the Bangladesh Army and if I get selected in the ISSB exam in future then I will think about whether to continue with archery. But, my wish is to study in Dhaka University or Jahangirnagar University and pursue a career in teaching or another profession and continue as an archer."

Only time will tell what is in store. Diya is now concentrating on next month's events in Paris and has set her sights on the semifinal of the Recurve mixed event alongside Ruman with hopes that she can also book a direct seat for the Tokyo Olympics.