Deepika Kumari leads the charge as Indian recurve archers advance on first day of Archery World Cup
Dhiraj Bommadevara was the only Indian to crash out on the opening day in Paris.
Indian recurve archers made a flying start to the Archery World Cup Stage 3 during qualifying in all the team events in Paris on Tuesday.
The men’s, women’s and mixed teams sailed through to the round of 16 after a string of excellent performances.
The women’s trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari finished second in the qualification while the men’s team of Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai and Dhiraj Bommadevara ended eighth.
Indian women’s recurve archery team continued their battle with Mexico, with both countries ending as the two best sides. The two teams had finished 1-2 during the qualification for the final Olympic qualifier in Paris on Sunday.
India registered a cumulative score of 1986 after 216 arrows as the Mexicans topped the table with 2000 points.
Tokyo-bound Deepika Kumari continued her solid form, finishing second behind Mexico’s Alejandra Valencia at the end of the round.
Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari also did well to finish fifth and 19th, respectively as Madhu Vedwan, the fourth female recurve archer from India, moved ahead with rank No. 46.
The Indian women’s recurve team, seeded No. 2, will now face the winner between Spain and Sweden in the round of 16.
Later in the day, the Indian men’s recurve team, after a slow start, climbed to the top eight in the qualification, ending with 1981 points. Germany, Spain and the USA grabbed the top three places.
The men will face either Mexico or the Czech Republic in the round of 16.
After the qualifiers, Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das and Pravin Jadhav breezed through their respective individual contests in the opening round.
However, Dhiraj Bommadevara bowed out of the event after losing to Brian Maxwell of Canada.
In the women’s individual, Deepika Kumari and Ankita Bhakat will directly compete in the round of 32 (third round). Komalika Bari and Madhu Vedwan, however, will be in action in the first round.
The fine displays from Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das made them the fifth seed in the mixed team recurve.
The Indian men’s and women’s compound team will go through the qualification round on Wednesday along with further stages of the recurve men and women.