Antalya
Indian archer Deepika Kumari suffered a surprising defeat in the opening round to lesser-known Yaylagul Ramazanova of Azerbaijan at the Final Olympic Qualifier. Meanwhile, Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur progressed to the pre-quarterfinals, bringing them one step closer to securing individual women’s quotas.
Ankita secured her place in the last 16 by defeating Shelley Hilton of Israel 6-4, winning crucial sets with consistent shooting. Bhajan, seeded third, advanced with a 6-2 victory over Urantungalag Bishindee from Mongolia.
In contrast, Deepika, entering the competition as the second seed, initially led 4-0 after winning the first two sets. However, her performance faltered in the following sets, scoring 23 and 24 points respectively, with several arrows missing the mark. Yaylagul capitalized on Deepika’s errors to level the match at 4-4 before securing a 6-4 victory.
According to a team official, Deepika’s issues were not due to equipment malfunction but likely stemmed from pressure or other factors affecting her technique.
Despite the setbacks in the team events where both Indian men’s and women’s teams failed to secure quotas, there’s still hope for individual berths based on World Rankings. India’s teams will aim to maintain their positions, with the top two nations from those without team quotas set to qualify for the Paris Olympics after the upcoming World Cup stage.
