India Secures Direct Quarter-Final Spot in Women’s Archery at Paris Olympics

The Indian women’s archery team, consisting of Bhajan Kaur, Deepika Kumari, and Ankita Bhakat, has directly qualified for the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics. They secured a fourth-place finish in the ranking round with a total of 1983 points.

In the Women’s Archery Ranking Round, South Korea dominated with 2046 points, followed by China with 1996 points and Mexico with 1986 points. For India, Ankita Bhakat achieved a personal season-best score of 666 points, securing the 11th seed in the women’s archery competition. South Korea’s Lim Sihyeon set a world record with 694 points, followed by Nam Suhyeon, who achieved her personal best of 688 points, ranking first and second respectively.

The ranking round required each archer to shoot 72 arrows in two halves of 36 arrows each. Each set comprised six arrows, with six sets per half. The top four seeds earned a direct qualification to the quarterfinals.

During the first set, Ankita Bhakat scored 54 points, placing her 22nd. Deepika Kumari and Bhajan Kaur both scored 51 points, placing 51st and 52nd respectively. South Korea’s Sihyeon Lim led the set with 59 points. As the rounds progressed, Ankita and Bhajan improved their standings, while Deepika rose and then slipped in her rankings.

By the end of the first half, India was in sixth place as a team, with Ankita in 12th place, Deepika in 37th, and Bhajan in 23rd. South Korea continued to lead both individually and as a team. In the second half, India started strong, with Ankita falling slightly but Deepika and Bhajan rising in their positions.

India maintained its fourth seeding by the end of the eighth set, with Ankita rising to 11th place, Deepika to 24th, and Bhajan to 30th. Despite some fluctuations, the team managed to secure a direct spot in the quarterfinals. In the final set, Deepika shined by hitting four consecutive 10-point marks, finishing in 23rd place with 658 points. Bhajan ended with 659 points in 22nd place, and Ankita secured 11th place with 666 points.

(With ANI Inputs)

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