Final Olympic Qualifier: Ankita Bhakat secured a quota for the women's individual recurve archery event at the Paris 2024 Olympics by reaching the quarterfinals of the Final Olympic Qualifier tournament, here on Sunday.
Bhakat’s impressive performance ensured India's presence in the coveted event, with eight individual quota places available and a maximum of one per National Olympic Committee (NOC).
Seeded ninth in the tournament, Bhakat received a bye in the first round, which gave her a smooth start. She then registered decisive victories, defeating Israel’s Shelley Hilton 6-4 and Mikaella Moshe 7-3 in the second and third rounds, respectively. Playing for the crucial quota place, Bhakat showcased her skills and composure by defeating Gabrielle Monica Bidaure of Philippines with a 6-0 clean sweep in the fourth round.
Meanwhile, Bhajan Kaur, the tournament's third seed, stormed into QF of women individual event beating Slovenian archer Urska Cavic 7-3 in fourth round. After a bye into the round of 32, Kaur overcame Mongolia’s Urantungalag Bishindee 6-2.
However, it was a challenging day for Deepika Kumari, the second seed and one of India's top archers. Despite receiving byes in the first and second rounds, Kumari was narrowly defeated by Azerbaijan’s Yaylagul Ramazanova 4-6 in the third round, after leading 4-0. The loss was a setback for Kumari, who has been a prominent figure in Indian archery.
On the men's side, Dhiraj Bommadevara had already secured an individual quota from the Asian qualifying leg earlier, ensuring India's representation in the men’s recurve event at the Paris Olympics.
The individual competition for men will continue on Monday, with more opportunities for Indian archers to qualify.
Both the Indian men’s and women’s recurve teams missed out on direct qualification but will be relying on their world rankings as of June 24 for potential spots at the Paris Games.