Indian women archers finish seventh in ranking round

The Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi were not at their best in the ranking round, and thus earned themselves a hard Olympic draw in the women’s team competition in archery at the scenic Sambodromo.

Deepika and company were drawn to play Colombia in the pre-quarterfinals, and the winner will play the quarterfinals against second seed Russia in the team championship on Sunday.

The Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi were not at their best in the ranking round, and thus earned themselves a hard Olympic draw in the women’s team competition in archery at the scenic Sambodromo.

Deepika and company were drawn to play Colombia in the pre-quarterfinals, and the winner will play the quarterfinals against second seed Russia in the team championship. The Indian women have won the silver in the World Championship and if they capitalise on the bright conditions, which stand in such stark contrast to the gloomy environs of the Lord’s ground in the London Games in 2012, they can really stir up excitement in the knock-out phase.

Especially so in the light of the set format being used for the team competition as well, which can open up the equations dramatically. Deepika (640), Bombayla (638) and Laxmirani (614) were placed 20th, 24th and 43rd respectively, and thus may have a hard road in the individual knock-out. The men’s competition was on Saturday, but with only Atanu Das in the team, there was no scope for India to figure in the team championship. Atanu Das who placed fifth in the ranking round, would attempt to recapture a strong performance in the knock-out phase.

The individual events are scheduled later, as the ranking rounds were used to make the draw for both the individual and team competitions.