Paris Olympics 2024 Archery: Pravin Jadhav bows out after going down to China's Kao Wenchao
In a closely contested battle, Pravin Jadhav, India's last standing hope in the men's individual archery event at the Paris Olympics 2024, saw his campaign end on Thursday, August 1. Going up against China's Kao Wenchao, Jadhav delivered a consistent performance but narrowly missed out on every set by a single point, ultimately losing 6-0.
The match commenced with Kao starting strong, hitting a 10 with his first arrow. Jadhav responded with a nine. Maintaining his form, Kao hit another bullseye. Jadhav also struck the center. In the final arrow of the first set, Kao scored a nine. Although Jadhav matched the score, it wasn't enough to win the set, which ended 29-28 in favor of Kao.
In the second set, Jadhav started with two perfect 10s, but Kao mirrored his opponent. Despite Jadhav's impressive score of 29 from three shots, Kao achieved a perfect 30, doubling his lead to 4-0.
The third set saw Jadhav replicate his previous performance by starting with a 10, while Kao faltered slightly with a nine, but quickly regained his composure. Jadhav’s eight on his second shot allowed Kao to capitalize with a 10 and take the lead. Jadhav's nine in his final shot was not enough, as Kao once again edged him out 29-28, winning the set and the match.
Pravin Jadhav’s exit marks the end of India’s campaign in the men’s individual archery event at the Paris Olympics.
Tarundeep Rai concluded his run with a 4-6 defeat to Tom Hall of Great Britain, while Dhiraj Bommadevara narrowly missed out on a place in the last 16 after losing to Canada's Eric Peters. In a match that ended in a shoot-off, Peters emerged victorious by the narrowest of margins, shooting ten closer to the center than Dhiraj.
Bhajan Kaur, Deepika Kumari through to the last 16 at the Paris Olympics 2024
India’s women archers, Deepika Kumari and Bhajan Kaur, secured their places in the pre-quarterfinals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Deepika Kumari overcame Estonia’s Reena Parnat in the first round, winning in a shoot-off after both archers shot an eight. Kumari's arrow landed closer to the center, securing her victory. In her second round, she easily defeated the Netherlands' Quinty Roeffen with a 6-2 win to advance to the last 16.
Bhajan Kaur, 18, delivered a remarkable performance, defeating Indonesia's Syifa Kamal 7-3 and Poland’s Wioleta Myszor 6-0 in her first and second rounds, respectively, to advance to the Round of 16 in the women's individual event at the Paris Olympics 2024.