A day after Laishram Bombayla Devi and Deepika Kumari suffered shock defeats in their respective matches, Indian archery’s sole medal hope, Atanu Das went down 4-6 to World No. 8 Lee Seung-Yun despite putting up a spirited fight against the South Korean, who had already won the team gold at the tournament.
Das braved the rain at the Sambodromo to begin with a perfect 10 in the first set. But Lee managed a hat-trick of 10s to clinch the set 30-28. The scores were reversed in the second as Das scored three consecutive 10s to overpower his opponent by two points and draw level in the match.
The third set was shared between the two archers as both scored 27, before the South Korean inched ahead 28-27 in the fourth, thereby leaving Das in a do-or-die position.
After shooting similar scores in the first two attempts of the final set, Lee set the Indian a target of 10 to survive in the match. The 24-year-old, however, ended up with just a nine resulting in a tie for the fifth set and a decisive end to India’s campaign in archery at Rio.
DEEPIKA KUMARI’S SURRENDER
Earlier on Thursday, Deepika Kumari flattered to deceive as she lost in the last 16. Facing World No. 2 Tan Ya-Ting was always going to prove challenging, and Kumari felt the first pang of panic as she shot an eight to surrender the first set 27-28.
She failed to register a 10 over the next two sets and conceded the match 28-27, 29-26, 30-27. Coming off a high-scoring win in the first round and a magnificent comeback in the second, Kumari was expected to put up a strong show in the round of 16. But the archer succumbed to nerves, and the helplessness was palpable as yet another medal hope faltered to leave India award-less after a week at the Olympics.
BOMBAYLA DEVI’S ORDINARY PERFORMANCE
Minutes after Kumari’s elimination, Bombayla Devi took on Mexico’s Alejandra Valencia in the last 16.
A lackluster show by both competitors found the match evenly poised at 1-1 after two sets. The Mexican shot a 10 with the final arrow in the third set to gain ground at 28-27, before a pedestrian performance by Devi in the decider saw the Indian losing it 23-25 and effectively surrendering the match.
The Indians had already bowed out of the team events in both gender categories. Unexpected losses at the individual events now find them prepared to board a flight back home without a single medal in the bag.
