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 an accreditation for the Olympics, India, which got a first round bye, lost to the Netherlands 6-0 (52-51, 54-49, 53-48).
While unpredictable winds posed a challenge, the Indians’ nervousness, apparent from their blinking eyes, shaking hands and the long 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.
