The Indian men’s recurve archery team was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Final Olympic Qualifier, which offered three quota spots for the Paris Games. However, entry to Paris is nearly guaranteed for the world No. 2 team through their rankings.
The in-form trio of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Jadhav, who triumphed over the formidable Koreans for the Shanghai World Cup gold in April, had a strong chance to secure the team quota at this tournament in Antalya, Turkey. The signs were promising as they topped the qualification round on Saturday morning.
However, much like the women’s team the previous day, the men faltered under pressure during the elimination rounds, suffering a 5-4 shoot-off defeat to Mexico in the quarter-finals. While the women squandered a 3-1 lead against the lower-ranked Ukraine, the men collapsed after being 4-0 up against the eventual winners.
For the men, this event had less at stake regarding the Paris team spot compared to the women. The Indian men’s team, having secured 80 crucial points for the World Cup gold in Shanghai, currently sits second in the world rankings with 243 points, trailing Korea, who have already qualified. The next non-qualified teams are fifth-ranked China (204 points) and eighth-ranked USA (175 points). Thus, India is well-positioned to claim one of the two quotas available through the world rankings, which will be confirmed after the Antalya World Cup from June 18-23.
Despite this, their defeat on Saturday was a blow to their confidence. After topping the qualification round and earning a first-round bye, India easily defeated Luxembourg 6-0 to set up a clash with Mexico’s trio of Matias Grande, Carlos Rojas, and Bruno Martinez Wing.
India narrowly won the first set 57-56 with a couple of 10s and an X (closer to the center) by Dhiraj. They dominated the second set 57-53, with each archer shooting a 10, and at 4-0 up, they needed just one point from the next two sets to secure victory.
However, that point never came. An 8 by Pravin Jadhav in the third set cost India as they lost the set 55-56. Mexico raised their game in the fourth set, shooting three 10s and an X, while India managed only one 10 by Jadhav in a 58-55 scoreline that forced a shoot-off.
In the shoot-off, the scores were tied at 26-all, but with India shooting 8, 9, 9 and Mexico firing an inconsistent X, 7, and 9, Mexico emerged victorious due to the closest arrow to the center.
The individual quota events are set for Sunday and Monday. So far, India has secured just one quota through Dhiraj, who earned it at the Asian Continental Qualifier Tournament last November.
