How does archery at Olympics actually work? As the Tokyo Olympics get underway on Friday (July 23), we look at the format for archery.
Follow Us
The Tokyo Olympics began in low-key fashion on Friday (July 23). Despite it being the first day of the Games, there wasn’t as much going on as far as live sport was concerned. However, the sport of interest for Indian fans was archery. Unfortunately there was to be no broadcast of the event, as has always been the case for archery qualifiers. However, the qualification events dominated the news through the day. Archery has been a sport India traditionally excels at, despite a less than satisfactory showing in the sport in the history of the Games. But how does archery at Olympics actually work?
We look at the format of the sport here.
The qualifying rounds, that were held on Friday, determine simply the seeding of the competitors. No one is eliminated during this round, but their seeding is determined based on how they finish.
In the qualifiers, each archer shoots a total of 72 arrows. These are broken down into one ‘end’ of six arrows each. This means there are 12 ‘ends’ in the qualifiers.
Once six ends are played out, there is a break in play after which the other six ends are played. At the end, archers are seeded according to the points they scored.
The qualifiers also determine the seeding of the team events, taking into account the total score. India are seeded ninth in both the mixed pairing medal event and the men’s team event.
The women’s team did not qualify for the Games but Deepika Kumari is seeded ninth in the women’s individual event. In the men’s individual event, Pravin Jadhav finished the event at 31st, with Atanu Das at 35th and Tarundeep Rai at 37th.
Once the seeding is determined, the draw is made. In the individual events, each archer is paired up on one side of the draw and a loss before the semi-final ensures a knockout.
The matches here are decided using a set system. Each archer will shoot three arrows and the one who scores higher is given the set, which means getting awarded 2 points. If the score is level, each archer gets one point.
The first archer to get 6 points wins, with a maximum of five sets played. If the match ends level, then a shootoff is played. In this, both archers shoot one arrow and whoever is closer to the bullseye wins.
The team format is similar, except for the number of arrows archers shoot. For the men’s and women’s event, all three archers in a team get 2 arrows each. Again, two points are awarded for winning a set and the first to 6 points wins.
The mixed team format sees one man and one woman compete, with both getting three arrows each. Again, the winner of the set gets 2 points and the first to 6 wins, with ties being decided by a shoot-off.
The shootoff for team events differs slightly – every team member gets one arrow to shoot and the team with the highest points total after that wins.
The losers of the semi-finals battle in the bronze medal play-off, with the losing party in the final getting silver.
