Paris Olympics 2024 Archery: Bhajan Kaur storms into last 16, Ankita Bhakat bows out
The Paris Olympics 2024 saw Indian women's archer Bhajan Kaur storm into the Round of 16 of the women’s individual event on Tuesday, July 30. Kaur's impressive performances against Indonesia’s Syfia Kamal and Wioleta Myzsor helped her make the last 16.
However, India’s top-ranked archer from the ranking round, Ankita Bhakat, ended her campaign in the women’s individual category after going down to Poland’s Wioleta Myzsor in the Round of 64.
Bhajan Kaur faced Indonesia's Syifa Kamal in a closely contested Round-of-64 encounter. The match began with Kaur trailing after shooting a 9 and an 8, but she recovered with a 10 in her final shot of the first set to draw level with Kamal at 27 points each, earning them one point apiece.
The second set saw Kamal nearly achieve a perfect score with 29 points, edging out Kaur's trio of nines to take a 3-1 lead. However, Kaur displayed resilience in the third set, mirroring Kamal's previous performance by scoring 29 points to Kamal’s 27 to level the match.
Kaur capitalized on a couple of loose arrows from Kamal in the fourth set to take a 5-3 lead. She then delivered a near-perfect performance in the final set, securing her place in the Round of 32 with a 7-3 victory.
In the Round-of-32 match, Kaur faced Poland's Wioleta Myzsor, who beat India’s Ankita Bhakat earlier in the day. Bhajan delivered a commanding performance to win 6-0. Kaur's consistency was evident as she scored five 10-point arrows and three nines out of her nine shots.
Myzsor, who had shown consistency in her previous match against Ankita Bhakat, struggled against Kaur. She scored 23 points in the first set with a 6 and a 7, followed by 26 in the second set and a mere 22 in the final set, which included a 5. In contrast, Kaur maintained high scores of 28, 29, and 28 in the three sets, ensuring a comprehensive victory.
Bhajan Kaur's next challenge will be the pre-quarterfinals on August 3.
Ankita Bhakat goes down to Wioleta Myzsor in the Round of 64 at the Paris Olympics 2024
Earlier in the day, Ankita Bhakat, the top-seeded Indian at Paris 2024, bowed out after losing to Wioleta Myzsor. The highly contested and close affair saw Myzsor edged past Bhakat 6-4.
The match began with Myzsor taking the first set by the narrowest of margins, winning 27-26. However, Bhakat responded strongly in the second set and third sets, securing 29-26 and 28-27 victories to take the lead. 2-4 down, Myzsor staged a remarkable comeback, winning the fourth set 29-27.
With the match tied, the final set proved to be a nail-biter. Myzsor maintained her composure and under pressure delivered an outstanding performance to clinch the set 28-27 and secure a 6-4 victory to end Bhakat’s campaign in the individual event.