Paris 2024 Olympics: India women’s archery team loses 0-6 to Netherlands in quarterfinals

The reverse meant India’s wait for an archery medal continued. The Netherlands advanced to the semifinals where it will face the winner of Korea-Chinese Taipei match.

India’s Deepika Kumari during the women’s team quarterfinals competition between the Netherlands at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. | Photo Credit: AP

The Indian women’s archery team, comprising Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur, performed below par to crash out in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics at the Invalides here on Sunday.

Without the support of Korean coach Baek Woong Ki, who was not given accreditation for the Olympics, India, which got a first-round bye, shot poor scores to lose to the Netherlands 6-0 (52-51, 54-49, 53-48) in the quarterfinals.

While unpredictable winds posed a challenge, the Indians’ nervousness, apparent from their blinking eyes, shaking hands and the time taken to shoot an arrow, compounded their problem. Two 7s in the opening set by Ankita and Deepika saw India lose the first set by one point. Two 6s by the duo in the next ensured that Netherlands took a 4-0 lead.

An under-pressure Ankita began the third set with a disastrous 4 to signal India’s early exit.

Of the three Indians, Bhajan performed most consistently as her worst shot fetched an 8.

The Dutch archers never shot below 8, which came thrice out of 18 attempts.

“This was unexpected. They could not judge the wind properly, but you cannot have the same excuse every time as other archers also shot in similar conditions. The archers were nervous because of the expectations,” said women’s coach Purnima Mahato.