Paris: The Indian women’s archery team of Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinal of the Paris Olympics on Sunday, ending the campaign on a disappointing note.
The Indian team lost 51-52, 49-54, 48-53 to the Dutch team after putting up a dismal show. Ankita and Deepika failed to cope with the pressure as they were unable to get their shots right from the start and the team fell behind 51-52 in the opening set.
Things did not change in the second as well as they went down in the set after two six-point shots from Ankita and Deepika to finish 54-49 and were trailing 0-4 to the Dutch team.
Ankita’s costly four-point error in the third set added further misery to and ended India’s hopes of progressing to the semifinals as the Netherlands, seeded 12th compared to India’s fourth, won the match 6-0.
This defeat prolonged India’s quest for an archery medal in the Olympics. Meanwhile, the Netherlands advanced to the semifinals, where they will compete against the winner of the match between Korea and Chinese Taipei.
Indian women’s team had earned a direct entry into the quarterfinals after finishing fourth in the qualification.
The men’s team consisting of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Pravin Jadhav, and Tarundeep Rai is scheduled to compete in the quarterfinals on Monday.
(IANS)
