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Paris, Jun 27: The seasoned and in-form Deepika Kumari was a constant in India's remarkable haul of three gold medals at the World Cup Stage 3 here on Sunday, an unprecedented sweep for the country at the mega-event ahead of next month's Tokyo Olympics.

Deepika blanked Russia's Elena Osipova 6-0 in the final of the women's individual recurve event to complete a hat-trick of gold medals in one day. She had earlier been a part of the mixed and women's gold-winning Indian teams.

In the mixed final, Deepika and husband Atanu Das, who are India's best medal hope in archery in the Olympics, bounced back from a 0-2 deficit to down the Netherland's Sjef van den Berg and Gabriela Schloesser 5-3.

This was after the women's recurve team of Deepika, Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari notched up the gold medal with a comfortable win over Mexico, shrugging off the disappointment of missing Olympic qualification last week.

"It feels amazing. First time we won the final together, it feels so happy," Atanu said after their win.

The two got married after a two-year courtship and would be celebrating their first wedding anniversary on June 30.

"It feels we are made for each other. But in the ground we are not couple but like just other competitors, we motivate, support and back each other," Atanu said.

Incidentally, this was also a first mixed pair gold medal for the former world number one Deepika who has five silver and three bronze medals in the event.

Her last mixed pair final appearance was also with Atanu in Antalya World Cup 2016. The duo had lost to Korea.

Deepika, who had earlier spearheaded the women's team to a second successive World Cup gold medal this year, said: "It feels happy."

She will be shooting for a hat-trick of gold later in the day.

India have so far won three gold medals with compound archer Abhishek Verma opening the tally by winning the individual event on Saturday.

In the mixed pair final, fifth-seeded Atanu and Deepika complemented each other well as the latter came into her own after a sluggish start.

Atanu had a near perfect first set, while Deepika stuttered with an 8 en route to a total of 37, while the Dutch pair nosed ahead by one point.

Trailing 0-2, India had commanding opening round scores of 19 with Atanu starting off with another perfect 10 to put pressure on the Dutch team which managed 16 to give a three-point advantage midway into the second set.

Atanu and Deepika shot 9 and 8 respectively in the second round to level it 2-2 at the halfway stage.

In the back end, Deepika found her golden touch to shoot two perfect 10s including one X as the duo dropped just one point to take the third set 39-37 for a 4-2 lead.

Needing a tie to clinch the issue in the fourth set, the duo found some resistance from the Dutch pair and the two teams were locked 19-19 at the halfway mark.

Van den Berg and Schloesser put together another 19 in the final round but Atanu held his nerves for a perfect 10 before Deepika seized the moment with a 9.

Earlier in the day, in a repeat of the World Cup first stage final, the troika of world number three Deepika, Ankita and Komalika defeated fancied Mexico 5-1 without dropping a set.

This was their second successive gold medal in the World Cup this year, and sixth overall. Deepika was a constant each time.

The trio, which had stuttered to win the gold against the same opponents in Guatemala City two months back, was at its best, shooting four 10s with one X (closest to the centre) for a 57-57 score in the first set.

The Indians' flawless shooting put pressure back on the Mexican team of London 2012 silver-medallist Aida Roman, Alejandra Valencia and Ana Vazquez. They shot a poor 52 to lose the second set by three points.

Leading 3-1, the Indians had another round of consistent shooting with a 55 but the Mexicans failed to equalise and lost the third set by a slender one point to suffer a second successive defeat this year.

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Noida: India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma has drawn sharp criticism on social media following remarks he made on air attributing Delhi’s air pollution partly to its geographical location and the Aravalli hill range.

Speaking during a recent episode of his prime-time show Aaj Ki Baat, Sharma said Delhi’s geography plays a major role in trapping polluted air.

“Geographical location is the main reason. Delhi is a big city and its shape is like a bowl, surrounded by the Aravalli hills on three sides. As a result, polluted air gets trapped and cannot disperse easily. Therefore, the problem of pollution in Delhi cannot be solved in one year or in any particular season,” he said.

His comments came amid a severe deterioration in air quality in the national capital. On Sunday morning, December 21, Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of toxic smog, sharply reducing visibility and causing widespread discomfort. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 390 around 7 a.m., placing it in the ‘very poor’ category, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Dense fog and smog also disrupted flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). As many as 110 flights were cancelled, while over 370 flights were delayed due to poor visibility. Of the cancelled services, 59 were arriving flights and 51 were departures. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that departing flights faced an average delay of around 26 minutes.

Netizens troll Sharma

One user wrote on X, “Rajat Sharma is saying due to the Aravalli hills, there is air pollution in Delhi. He is defending mining and destroying the Aravalli hills like this. How can these people call themselves journalists?”

Another user accused him of political hypocrisy, comparing his earlier criticism of the Delhi government with his current remarks, and wrote, “In 2023 he blamed Arvind Kejriwal for Delhi air pollution. In 2025, he is blaming the Aravalli hills because BJP is in power. Hypocrisy = 100%, Journalism = 00%.”

Others termed the comments an example of the “godi media” narrative, alleging that geography was being blamed instead of governance, industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, construction dust, and stubble burning. “When they fail to question power or policy, they conveniently shift the blame to nature,” another post read.

“Friends, what can one even say about today’s godi media? According to them, the reason for Delhi’s pollution is that the Aravalli hills surround the city from three sides, trapping polluted air inside. Seriously? So now Sudhir Chaudhary and Rajat Sharma want us to believe that nature itself is to blame? When they fail to question power or policy, they conveniently shift the blame to geography. Apparently, it’s not years of environmental destruction or administrative failure—it’s the Aravalli hills! Does this explanation make any sense at all?,” wrote another.

What is the Aravali issue?

The controversy arises over the Union government’s revised definition of what constitutes the Aravalli hills.

The decision has drawn protests involving environmental activists across Haryana, Rajasthan, and parts of the Delhi-NCR region, who have raised concerns that the new definition could weaken protection for one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges.

Under the revised definition, an “Aravalli hill” is described as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above local relief, while an “Aravalli range” is defined as a cluster of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. Activists fear this could open the door for mining, construction, and commercial activities in previously protected areas.

Environmentalists argue that the Aravalli range serves as a natural barrier against desertification, dust storms, and pollution, and plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance in the Delhi-NCR region.

They have demanded that the entire Aravalli range be declared a fully protected area with strict conservation measures.

Meanwhile, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has stated that the new definition, accepted by the Supreme Court based on a Centre-led panel’s recommendations, would not result in any relaxation of mining norms in the Aravalli region.

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