Indian Archers Face Setbacks at Paris 2024 Olympics

The Indian men's and women's archery teams faced quarterfinal defeats at Paris 2024, with hopes now pinned on individual events. India's Day 3 at the Games saw mixed results across shooting and hockey events.

The Indian men's archery team crashed out of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday, suffering a 2-6 defeat to Turkey. The team, which included Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Jadhav, had aimed to break India's Olympic medal drought in archery. Following this setback, the team will now focus on individual events to salvage their Olympic campaign.

Dhiraj Bommadevara seemed off-colour throughout the match, which swung the advantage to Turkey as they clinched the contest 6-2. Turkey proceeded to the semi-finals with final scores of 53-57, 52-55, 55-54, and 54-58. Bommadevara, Rai, and Jadhav will now look to redeem themselves in individual competitions.

Disappointment also struck India's women's archery team, which lost to the Netherlands 6-0 in their quarterfinal match. The team, featuring Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur, and Deepika Kumari, struggled to find their rhythm. Elsewhere, India's Day 3 at the Olympics was a mixed bag. Lakshya Sen won his match while the men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarter-finals. In shooting, Arjun Babuta narrowly missed a medal in the men's 10m air rifle final. Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh reached the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze match, while Rhythm Sangwan and Arjun Singh Cheema were eliminated. Ramita Jindal placed 7th in the women's 10m air rifle final. In men's hockey, Harmanpreet Singh scored late to secure a 1-1 draw with Argentina.