3 Indian archers who narrowly missed out on a medal at Paris 2024 Olympics ft. Deepika Kumari
It was the first time since the London 2012 Games that India entered with a full-strength squad of six Indian archers for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Here, Indian athletes were in contention in all five archery medal events - men’s team and individual, women’s team and individual, and mixed team.
In Paris, veteran Indian archer Tarundeep Rai and former women's World No.1 Deepika Kumari made their fourth Olympic appearances. Following Tokyo 2020, Indian archer Pravin Jadhav also made a comeback to the Olympics for his second stint. Deepika made her Olympic debut for the first time since becoming a mother. Four of the Indian archery team's remaining members made their Olympic debuts in Paris 2024.
Held at Les Invalides from July 25 to August 4, 2024, Indian archers did put up a better show this time around than what they had done in the previous editions. That being said let us take a look at three Indian archers narrowly missing out on a podium finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
#1 Deepika Kumari
India's Olympic archery campaign in Paris 2024 Olympics came to an end as Deepika Kumari lost in the women's solo quarter-finals.Four-time Olympian Deepika Kumari was defeated 6-4 in the final eight by Republic of Korea's Nam Suhyeon at the Esplanade des Invalides.
The South Korean opponent competed in the women's team event at Paris 2024 and was a member of the gold-medal winning trio.
Deepika defeated Estonia's Parnat Reena 6-5 in the round of 64 to start her singles campaign. She then defeated Roeffen Quinty 6-2 in the round of 32. After defeating German athlete Michelle Kroppen, a two-time Olympic medallist, she advanced to the quarter-finals.
#2 Indian Men’s Team
At Les Invalides on Monday, the Indian men's team, comprising Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Jadhav, lost 6-2 to Turkiye in the quarter-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In the team event, Indian archer Pravin Jadhav led India with four 10s, three 9s, and an 8. Dhiraj Bommadevara, who placed fourth in the previous week's ranking round, struggled to find his range on a regular basis, making crucial 7s in the opening and final sets.
The third-seeded Indian team was outmatched from the beginning and lost the opening set 57-53 against the sixth-seeded Turkish team of Mete Gazoz, Berkim Tumer, and Abdullah Yildirmis. They performed admirably to win the third set, but they were unable to hold on and ultimately crashed out.
#3 Dhiraj Bommadevara & Ankita Bhakat
Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat of India placed fourth in the mixed-team competition during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. For the Indian athletes, the winds of fortune were not blowing in their favor at critical times.
India’s mixed team of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat endured two crushing defeats against South Korea and the United States of America in the semi-finals and the bronze medal match, respectively. This left them in fourth place and missing the medal mark by just a whisker.
Indian archer Dhiraj kept his calm during the bronze medal match and kept shooting consistently but inconsistency from Ankita Bhakat probably cost India two rounds and eventually the match as they failed to secure the elusive medal in the sport.
Still, this mark as India's finest performance in archery at the Olympics came from Bommadevara-Bhakat, who fell 6-2 to Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold of the USA in the bronze medal match. Previously, the pair made history by being the first Indians to go to the Olympic semifinals in an archery competition.