Paris 2024 Olympics archery: Indian men’s team knocked out in quarter-finals

The Indian men’s archery team, comprising Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav, lost to Turkiye 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics at Les Invalides on Monday.

Pravin Jadhav, with four 10s, three 9s and an 8, was India’s top archer in the team event. Dhiraj Bommadevara, who finished fourth in the ranking round last week, could not find his range consistently, with critical 7s in the first and the last set.

"We were just trying to understand the situation, when our shots were not really good, especially me," Dhiraj admitted. "I (was) a bit nervous but by then it’s a little late to come back.

“I need to work more on myself and really... I will learn from these situations and try not to repeat my mistakes and get back stronger.

“The main thing is to focus on myself rather than other situations," he explained. "The second thing is to make decisions about the wind. After making decisions today, what happened is I didn’t believe in my decision.

“So these are the main things I need to work on. Small things count and every single arrow. I’m sure I’m coming back from it.”

India, the third seeds, were on the back foot from the start, losing the first set 57-53 against the sixth-seeded Turkish trio of Mete Gazoz, Berkim Tumer and Abdullah Yildirmis. Dhiraj and Praveen shot a 10 each but Turkiye hit four 10s to take the two points.

Turkiye maintained their consistency with five 9s and a 10 in the second set to score 55. India scored 52 with a 10, two 9s and three 8s.

The Indian archery team put on a spirited show to take the two points in the third set with Dhiraj and Tarundeep hitting two 10s and two 9s. However, after winning the third set 55-54, India succumbed in the fourth set to lose 58-54.

The Indian women’s archery team, comprising Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari, lost to the Netherlands 6-0 in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

All six Indian archers will compete in the individual rounds starting on Tuesday. Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara will also feature in the mixed team event on Friday.