Bolstered by their fantastic show in the ranking rounds, the India women’s team will look to end a 36-year-long wait for an Olympic medal in archery with yet another good show in the knockout and medal rounds here on Sunday.
For the first time after 12 years, India have a full six-member contingent as they vie for medals in all the five categories — mixed team, men’s and women’s team, and individual events.
Having been seeded straight to the quarters, the men’s and women’s teams need two wins to land a historic first Olympic medal in archery since their debut in the 1988 Seoul Games.
India, who have never crossed the quarter-final hurdles in the Olympics archery, mostly falling to powerhouse South Korea, will avoid their nemesis first-up. While the men’s team can avoid them till the gold medal clash, the women’s may head into Korea in the semi-finals.
India will take on the winners of the France versus the Netherlands contest in the women’s team quarter-finals on Sunday. Shooting in front of home support, France, who were ranked fifth in the qualifiers, will be the overwhelming favourites to be India’s quarter-final opponents.
All eyes would be on the trio of Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari and how they soak in the pressure in front of a partisan crowd.
The women’s team seems to be ahead of their French rivals, having shot 1983 with an average of 9.18 compared to the hosts’ 1972 (at 9.13).
For motivation, the Indian girls can look into the past. It was in Paris only at the World Cup Stage 3 in 2021 where the Indian women’s team had defeated France in the semi-finals en route to winning a gold. Ankita and Deepika were part of that gold medal-winning Indian team with Bhajan replacing Komalika Bari here.
Deepika, the former world No. 1, is the most experienced member of the team. She
had her worst ranking round from four Olympics, finishing lowly 23rd.
She struggled to get her 10s, managing just 28 perfect scores from 72 arrows and landed her arrows in the five and six rings on two occasions.
Deepika will once again play the role of a finisher and it will all boil down to how she brings her best out in the crunch moment.
Besides the archers, pistol shooter Manu Bhaker will also be vying for a medal on Sunday.
