India’s Tokyo Olympics archery campaign ends with Atanu Das’ exit

India’s archery hopes at the Tokyo Olympics came to an end as Atanu Das exited the men’s individual event on Saturday after a 6-4 round of 16 loss to Japan’s Takaharu Furukawa.

Up against Furukawa, the London 2012 silver medallist, at the Yumenoshima Park Archery Field, Atanu Das made a shaky start. The Indian scored 25 with his three arrows in the first round (9, 8, 8) while the Japanese shot 27 (9, 9, 9).

The Indian bounced right back in the second set with 28 (10, 9, 9) but Furukawa responded in kind with a 28 (9, 9, 10) of his own to share the points.

Atanu Das, however, drew level in set three. The Indian scored 28 (10, 10, 8) to trump his opponent’s 27 (8, 10, 9).

The fourth set, too, turned out to be a nail-biter. Atanu was on his mark with a 28 (9, 10, 9) but Furukawa ensured a split with the same scoring sequence with his three arrows.

Going into set five with the score tied at 4-4, Atanu Das shot 26 (9, 8, 9) but it was a point short of the Japanese archer’s 27 (9, 10, 8).

Atanu Das was the last Indian archer competing at Tokyo 2020.

Atanu Das’ fellow Indians Pravin Jadhav and Tarundeep Rai lost in the round of 32 of the men’s individual event, while the men’s team comprising all three was knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual gold medallists South Korea.

The mixed team of Pravin Jadhav and Deepika Kumari, too, fell before the semi-finals. In women’s individual, Atanu Das’ wife Deepika Kumari’s campaign also ended in the quarter-finals.