Star archers Deepika Kumari and Dhiraj Bommadevara were back to their best after missing out on the team berths as India secured at least three individual medals in recurve events of the Asian Archery Championships here on Tuesday.
Top-ranked Indians Deepika and Dhiraj, who had failed to make the team events after finishing last among their compatriots in qualification round on the opening day, bounced back strongly when the individual eliminations got underway.
Deepika stunned Shanghai World Cup gold medallist Lee Gahyun of Korea 7-3 to storm into the women's recurve semifinals, where she will face compatriot Ankita Bhakat. Ankita, meanwhile, produced one of the biggest upsets of the day, toppling top seed and former world champion Jang Minhee of Korea 6-4.
Sangeeta too joined the party, defeating Iran's Zare Reyhane 7-1 to enter the last-four, where she will meet Korea's Nam Suhyeon. With Deepika, Ankita and Sangeeta all in the semifinals, India stand a strong chance of completing a clean sweep in the women's recurve individual category.
In the men's recurve section, Dhiraj made amends for his poor qualification round by defeating Uzbekistan's Amirkhon Sadikov in a shoot-off, both shooting 10s before the Indian prevailed with an arrow closer to the centre after being locked 5-5 in four sets. He will take on Korea's Jang Chaehwan in the semifinal.
Rahul, the 11th seed, also put up a solid show to beat Lin Zih-Siang of Chinese Taipei 6-2 and set up the other semifinal against Korea's Seo Mingi. Lin's misfired arrow in the fourth set handed Rahul an easy passage to the last-four.
However, there was heartbreak for top seed Yashdeep Bhoge, who went down 4-6 to home favourite Mohammad Rakib Mia in the pre-quarterfinals. Two-time Olympian Atanu Das also had a heartbreak, crashing out in his first match.
In compound events, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Prithika Pradeep made it to the women's semifinals, keeping India's medal hopes alive.
Prithika defeated compatriot Chikitha Thippeswamy 148-146 to set up a semifinal against Bangladesh's Most Kulsum Akther Mone, while Jyothi overcame Korea's Oh Yoohyun 147-145 to enter the last four, where she will face Si-Yu Chen of Chinese Taipei.
However, there was disappointment in the men's compound section, where none of the Indians advanced to the semifinals. Sahil Jadhav lost 147-148 to Korea's Lee Eunho, while Prathamesh Fuge bowed out to Choi Yonghee in a shoot-off after a 148-148 tie with both shooting 10s, but Choi's arrow was closer to the centre.
Veteran Abhishek Verma, who won bronze in Bangkok last year, lost 148-149 to Malaysia's Mohammad Juwaidi Mazuki. Earlier, Fuge had eliminated Prathamesh Jawkar, who returned to compound archery after a brief switch to recurve in pursuit of an Olympic berth.
Also read: Indian Archer Deepika Kumari reaches pre-quarterfinals
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