B. Dhiraj earned the first Olympics quota place for the country in archery at the Asian Continental Qualifier Tournament (ACQT) in Bangkok on Saturday.

Sports Bureau

Dhiraj defeated Iranians Sadegh Ashrafi Bavlili and Mohammadhossein Golshani Asl with identical 6-0 margins in the quarterfinals and semifinals to make the recurve men’s individual title clash and book a quota place for Paris 2024.

However, the Indian lost to Lin Zih-Siang of Chinese Taipei 6-5 (10-9) via shoot-off in the final and finished with silver.

Tarundeep Rai and Ankita Bhakat exited from the race for quota places in the last-eight stage.

The results:

Recurve: Individual: Men: B. Dhiraj bt Sadegh Ashrafi Bavlili (Iri) 6-0 in QF, bt Mohammadhossein Golshani Asl (Iri) 6-0 in SF, lost to Lin Zih-Siang (Tpe) 6-5 (10-9) in final; Tarundeep Rai lost to Lin Zih-Siang (Tpe) 6-0 in QF.

Women: Ankita Bhakat lost to Ziyodakhon Abdusattorova (Uzb) 6-4 in QF.

Dhiraj earns India’s first archery quota place for 2024 Olympics