india.com : Jul 02, 2020, 08:47 AM
Ranchi: Top India archers Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das got married in Ranchi on Tuesday in a low-key ceremony necessitated due to the coronavirus pandemic. Strict social distancing norms were followed with limited guests invited for the wedding.Among the high-profile attendees were Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Archery Association of India’s (AAI) newly elected president Arjun Munda.Only 60 invitations were printed for the wedding and the guests were divided into two batches of 50 each. They were given two different time slots – the first lot left by 7:00 PM IST and, the next batch entered and left half-an-hour later.As per a report in India Today, Munda, who has played a vital role in Deepika’s career, also performed the Kanyadaan ritual.The invited guests had to follow the strict health guidelines which were printed on the invitation cards. On arrival they were handed masks and sanitizers.The couple originally planned to get married after the Tokyo Olympics this year. However, with the Summer Games postponed to 2021 and the world coming to a virtual standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, they decided to get married in the available “free-time” .Deepika, a former top-ranked archer, is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and has won three silver medals and two bronze medals in world cup finals.Together, Deepika and Atanu have also won a world cup mixed title in 2013.