Atanu Das showed fine composure and skill to bounce back from a poor start in his maiden Olympics to finish fifth in the qualification round as archery got underway at Brazil’s historic Samba street in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
Lying a lowly 10th after first 36 arrows, the 24-year-old Kolkata lad turned it around in style in the final set of 36 arrows by shooting 23 perfect 10s including 10 closest to the centre to finish fifth with 683 out of the possible 720.
Das is the lone male member in the Indian archery team and competed only in the individual section as the men’s team had failed to qualify from the World Championship.
Leading the qualification round was two-time World champion Kim Woo-jin who shot 700, for a world record on the opening day of the XXXI Olympiad.
Women Archers Disappoint
Deepika Kumari finishes 20th with a total score of 640. She started off well but then faltered. She had even hit the top spot before stumbling at the halfway mark.
Laxmirani Majhi had a disappointing campaign as she ended 43rd with a score of 614. Bombayla Devi Laishram sparkled in bits to finish 24th with 638 points.
India finish 7th with a total score of 1892.
Men’s: Atanu Das-5
Women’s: Deepika Kumari-20
Bombayla Devi-24
Laxmirani-43
