July 29, 11:43 (IST)
Paris Olympics 2024 Day 3 Live Updates: Indian women’s archer eliminated
Even their favourite music could not calm the nerves of the Indian archers as the women’s team succumbed to pressure at the most crucial moment and lost to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the team event at Les Invalides on Sunday. At the scenic venue facing the magnificent Palace of Les Invalides, the Indian team could only manage four points thanks to a couple of sixes and an incredible deflection by top archer Ankita Bakkat to lose 0-6 (51-52, 49-54, 48-53).
Though the crowd took solace in mist sprayers to beat the heat, the weather, with temperatures hovering in the mid-20s, was no excuse for the hard-working Indians. When Ankita started off with seven, a reporter from the media tribune exclaimed, “What a terrible start!”
Bhajan Kaur scored eight points before Deepika Kumari started the match late with seven points. India came back strongly in the second half of the set with nine, nine and eight points but the Netherlands won the first set to beat India 52-51 and take a two-point lead.
The Indian trio showed signs of a fightback with two tens and an eight, but a poor performance from Ankita, who managed just a six, marred this incredible comeback. Bhajan tried to undo the damage with a ten, but Deepika, who was below par in the ranking rounds, hit another six to gift the Netherlands the win.
The Netherlands won the set comfortably, 54-49, to extend their lead to 4-0. It was now a win-or-lose situation for India.
Ankita started with a disastrous four but Bhajan, India’s only two tens, delivered another ten but Deepika again missed the inside run and India finished with scores of 8, 8 and 10 to ensure victory.
Never under any pressure, the Netherlands won the third set comfortably, 58-53, leaving the Indian team in a state of shock as they celebrated.