Tokyo Olympics: Deepika Kumari finishes ninth in archery qualification round

Deepika Kumari got her Tokyo Olympics campaign underway with a ninth-placed finish in the archery qualification round on Friday (July 23). Kumari started the round steady yet by the time the third end (round where archers shoot six arrows) finished, she was just about in the top 10. Yet a wonderful rally in the next three ends saw her end the first half of the ranking round in fourth. However, he start to the second half – which featured six ends – was not the strongest. She slipped down to eighth and then went to seventh. In both ends, it was shooting one sole 7 that hurt her.

In the end she did well enough to finish in ninth. This means she will be seeded in a comfortable position for the individual event.

Yet Kumari will look back with some disappointment at the qualification round. Were it not for one too many 7’s, she might have been closer to the top three.

It was a dominant show from the South Koreans, however, as An San, Jang Minhee and Kang Chaeyoung finished first, second and third, respectively. San, in fact, finished with an Olympic record score of 680. The other two also surpassed the previous Olympic record.

Deepika Kumari a medal hope in Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics, which was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now up and running. The Games have not been without their share of controversies, however.

The event is happening despite plenty of protests from the Japanese people against it. And the angst is not without reason. Tokyo is currently in a state of emergency due to a rise in COVID cases.

The Games will by and large be played out in the absence of fans, always a major psychological blow to athletes. There’s also been a number of cases reported in the Olympic village itself.

Nevertheless, the Games remain an event that many around the world will be keen to watch. From July 23 to August 8, many will be hooked onto their televisions to follow the events.

Archery will be an event of interest for India. The country has produced a number of talented archers yet an Olympic medal has proven elusive.

Deepika Kumari is India’s sole female entrant in the sport this year. Perhaps the biggest disappointment for India will be the failure of the women’s archery team to qualify.

It was the women’s team who came close to winning a medal at Rio 2016 but they won’t be at Tokyo 2020.

The men’s side of things sees three archers – Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav – set to take part. There’s also the mixed team event, which can be seen as India’s best hope of a medal.