"A history indeed” - Netizens cheer as Indian mixed archery team of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat progress to Paris 2024 Olympics semis
The Indian mixed archery team of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat stormed to the archery mixed team semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics after beating Spain by a margin of 5-3.
After the win, which secured a medal match for the Indian mixed archery team, netizens rushed to social media to congratulate Dhiraj and Ankita for their historic win on Friday.
“A history indeed. Like I said and believe... this is the olympics. Expecting the unexpected is what it is. BTW I trolled these guys so badly because I was so tired of archery loss,” one fan posted on the social media platform X.
“Dheeraj and Ankita into the semis of mixed archery at #Paris2024. Now just one win away from the gold medal match. This is historic anyway since no Indian archery team or individual had reached an archery semis in the Olympics before,” another fan wrote.
“India now one win away from first ever medal!🎯🇮🇳🔥Historic moment for Indian archery - an Olympic semifinal for the first time ever in the sport,” another post read.
One fan backed Dhiraj to make a comeback in the Paris 2024 Olympics with a medal, after a disappointing outing in the men’s archery event. The fan wrote:
“Dhiraj badly need to win a medal here after the heartbreak in men's archery. Hope he can do What Sarabjot singh did in Shooting.”
However, some Indian fans were pessimistic about the team’s chances in the semi-finals, where they will face world No. 1 South Korea. One fan wrote:
“Korea are the best team in the world. They are God of archery. No one can beat them.”
“India's semi-finals would most probably be against Korea, against whom hitting an 8 is a crime and France police will lock you up immediately,” another posted.
Indian mixed archery team goes to Paris 2024 Olympics semi-finals in style after defeating mighty Spain
The Indian mixed archery team of Dhriaj and Ankita went into the match against the Spanish team of Elia Canales and Pablo Acha as slight underdogs. Canales and Acha were ranked 5 and 22 in the world rankings, respectively, while Dhiraj and Ankita held 15 and 40 world rankings.
However, on the day that mattered, the Indian mixed archery team turned up with the performance of a lifetime. Dhiraj and Ankita started the game perfectly, grabbing the first set with a narrow margin of 38-37, leading the overall tie 2-0.
The second set was slightly tougher, and both teams drew 38-38; India still led 3-1. Spain turned the match around by winning the third set 37-36 and tying the match 3-3. However, Dhiraj and Ankita kept their cool and won the final set 37-36 to win the tie 5-3.
Now, the Indian mixed archery team will face South Korea in the semi-finals, who recently beat the Italian team 6-2 to progress through. The semi-final match will happen at 7:01 pm IST onwards.