India secured direct qualification to the quarterfinals of the women’s archery team event as the trio of Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari finished 4th in the ranking round event on July 25, Thursday.
Ankita finishes 11th; Bhajan and Deepika finish 22nd & 23rd respectively
Ankita finished 11th, Bhajan and Deepika finished 22nd and 23rd respectively. Team India scored 1983 points with 21 bullseyes and 83 10’s on the day.
Korea finished top of the standings with 2046 points with China and Mexico ending in the 2nd and 3rd spots with 1996 and 1986 points respectively.
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Season-best result for Ankita Bhakat
Ankita achieved a season-best result as India’s most consistent archer on the day. Deepika struggled to establish her flow early on and will look to improve in the major rounds. Lim Sihyeon won with 694 points, setting a world record.
There was a short delay before things began, and Lim Sihyeon set the pace early with four consecutive bullseyes in the first round. The second round saw the Korean add another three bullseyes to her score, giving her a comfortable lead.
Ankita Bhakat began with a bullseye and a 10, followed by two 9s and two 8s in the first round. Deepika started the first round with a 10 but finished in disastrous way, hitting only 6 with the last arrow.
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Bhajan had a good start and found herself in the middle of the pack.
Bad day for Deepika Kumari as she struggled to find form
Ankita jumped from 12th to 7th place in the second round, scoring 3 bullseyes and 5 10s over her following 12 arrow strokes. Deepika’s bad start would come back to haunt her, and it took her until the third round to score her first bullseye.
Deepika finished solidly in the first round, while Ankita gradually slipped down the ranks at the end of the round. Team India was ranked sixth after Bhajan Kaur scored 330 points at the completion of the first 36 arrows.
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Deepika began the second round with a bullseye and finished with 57 points from the seventh round, while Bhajan and Ankita scored 53 and 54, respectively. Ankita hit two bullseyes to begin the eighth round, but finished poorly with an 8 in the end.
The final rounds of the archery competitions at the Paris Olympics will be held from July 28 to August 4.
