Paris Olympics 2024: Ankita Bhakat leads the charge as the Indian women's archery team finish 4th in the ranking round
The Indian contingent got off to a decent start in the Paris Olympics 2024. The first event featuring Indian athletes was the women's individual ranking round in archery. This round is a crucial part of the tournament for the archers, as it decides the seeds and potential opponents they will face later in the tournament.
Despite a shaky start, the Indian archers improved in the later stages of the event to finish strongly in fourth place, securing a direct spot in the quarter-finals of the women’s team event.
Ankita Bhakat emerged as the highest-ranked Indian archer, finishing in 11th place with a season-best score of 666, just one point shy of the top 10 and five points behind the fifth-placed archer.
Bhajan Kaur, 18, placed 22nd with a score of 659. Despite her young age and lack of experience, she displayed great promise and improved with every arrow, showcasing consistency throughout the 12 Ends.
However, former World No. 1, Deepika Kumari, India's most experienced archer, had a disappointing finish, ranking 23rd with a score of 658. Although her performance was below expectations, Kumari showed her capability to bounce back.
A closer look at the Women's Individual Ranking Round at the Paris Olympics 2024
The first half of the ranking rounds saw the Indian archers get off to a rough start, especially in the first couple of ends. However, the Indian archers pulled through and made significant improvements as the event progressed.
Ankita Bhakat led the charge with a stellar performance, although a slight slip in the last two ends of the first half placed her 12th after 36 arrows. Bhajan Kaur, on the other hand, improved with every passing End, securing a solid 22nd place after six Ends. While Deepika Kumari stood in 37th place after a poor first start.
In the second half, Bhakat once again broke into the top 10 in the penultimate end but was unable to hold that position, finishing 11th due to an eight on her last arrow. Bhajan Kaur, similar to her first half, battled past a slow start and improved with every arrow.
Ankita Bhakat added 331 points to her 335 from the first half. Bhajan Kaur added 329 to her initial 330. Deepika Kumari was the only Indian to better her score, adding 331 to her 327. Despite a disastrous five in her last shot of End 9, Deepika bounced back with nine 10s in her last 18 arrows, scoring 168 out of a possible 180.
The former Asian Games medalist showed her experience by making a comeback and pulling an incredible 14-place jump in the last 36 arrows to finish 22nd. The combined score of the Indian archers puts them in 4th place, just three points behind the Mexican team in third, and gives them a direct entry to the last eight.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Lim Sihyeon topped the standings in the ranking round and broke both the Olympic and world records with an outstanding score of 694, finishing two points ahead of the old world record and a staggering 14 points clear of the Olympic record.
The Indian men's archery team will also be in action later in the day for the men’s individual ranking rounds.