Paris Olympics 2024: Indian men's archery team fall short in quarter-final

India lost 2-6 to Turkey in the men’s team event at the Paris Olympics 2024.

The Indian men’s archery team lost to Turkey 2-6 (53-57, 52-55, 55-54, 54-58) in the quarter-final round of the Paris Olympics 2024 on Monday. The Indian trio of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Ramesh Jadhav had entered the quarter-final after a great ranking round where they finished third.

They got a bye in the Round of 16 by virtue of thier top four finish in the ranking round. All hope was on the men’s team after a disappointing performance by the women’s team, as they lost to the Netherlands 0-6 in the quarter-final at Paris Olympics 2024.

However, it was a tough task as the men’s team had to face Turkey in the QF led by Tokyo Olympics champion Mete Gazoz. Turkey defeated Colombia in a shoot off to face India in the last eight at Paris Olympics 2024.

The men’s team started with a 9 and 10 by Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav, but Dhiraj shot his first arrow in the red zone to take the team total to 26. The Turkish team replied with 29 points. In the second half India managed 27, taking the cumulative score to 53. Turkey were solid, as they won the first set with a score of 57.

However, India couldn’t control thier nerves in the second set too, as they were a bit rusty with a couple of 8s by Tarundeep and Dhiraj. Turkey replied with 55 and won the second set. It was a do-or-die third set for India, as they had to win it to stay in the competition.

Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024: Shaky Indian Women’s team loses archery quarter-final against Netherlands

The team started well with 27 on the board (9, 8, 10). Turkey replied with 28 points (9, 9, 10). In the second half, India replied with 28 (10, 9, 9), taking the cumulative score to 55. Just when it looked all over for India, Turkish archer Tumer Berkim hit a 7, gifting two points to his opponents.

India started the fourth set well with 9, 10, 9. The first half went well for the Indian side. Dhiraj needed to hit a 10 to put some pressure on the Turkish team. But, he succumbed under pressure to hit a 7. However, the Turkish team kept thier nerves and shot a brilliant 58 points to win the match and advance to the semis.

Pravin was the best archer for India with an average of 9.375. Tarundeep with an average of 8.75 and Dhiraj with an average of 8.625 let the team down. The wait to win a maiden Olympic archery medal continues.

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