Last Updated on 25/07/2024 by Ankita Jain
Archer Ankita Bhakat surpassed veteran Deepika Kumari to finish a best-ever 11th among Indians in the Paris Olympics women’s individual recurve qualification, helping the country finish fourth and secure a quarterfinal berth in the team event.
Debutant Ankita (26) shot 666 points to be the best-ranked Indian woman archer, followed by Bhajan Kaur (22nd) with 559 points and Deepika Kumari (23rd) with 658 points.
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In the team event, India secured fourth place with 1983 points, while South Korea topped the competition with 2046 points. China was the runner-up, while Mexico finished third.
The top four teams in the team table qualify directly for the quarter-finals, while the teams ranked fifth to 12th will play Round of 16 matches. India will face the winner of the match between France and Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
If the Indian women’s team crosses the quarter-final hurdle, it may have to face the strong Korean team in the semi-finals. The Korean team has been undefeated in the Olympics, winning its ninth consecutive medal in Tokyo three years ago.
In the individual category, Korea’s Lim Sihyeon topped the table with a world record score of 694, while her compatriot Suhyeon Nam finished second with 688 points. China’s Yang Xiaolei finished third with 673 points.
Deepika will not play in the mixed team event for the first time as Ankita topped the Indian team. Ankita will pair up with the top archer in the men’s qualification in the mixed team finals.