Tokyo Games: Heartbreak for archer Deepika, crashes out in quarters

The Indian archer misfired three 7s in a row after drilling in as many 10s in succession to snuff out any chance of a comeback after being 0-2 down in the opening set

Tokyo: Another Olympics, another heartbreak for India’s Deepika Kumari. The world number one archer’s quest for an Olympic medal ended in heartbreak for the third time as she surrendered tamely to Korean top seed An San in straight sets in the quarterfinals here on Friday.

It was all over in six minutes. The fancied Indian misfired three 7s in a row after drilling in as many 10s in succession to snuff out any chance of a comeback after being 0-2 down in the opening set.

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An, who had a perfect opening set of 30, closed it out despite shooting in the red-circle thrice in succession (7-8-9) in second and third sets. “I am not sure what happened. I tried hard but I could not perform to my own expectations,” Deepika, who shot a pathetic four 7s from seven arrows, said after her loss at the Yumenoshima Park.

“I feel very sad, because I did well in the last two World Cups. I had high expectations but I could not start off well,” she admitted.

Deepika’s husband Atanu Das is the only Indian left in medal contention after his stunning shoot-off victory over two-time Olympic champion Oh Jin Hyek. In his last-16 match slated on Saturday, Das will face home favourite Takaharu Furukawa, an individual silver medallist at the 2012 Olympics and a team bronze winner here.

Barring her three 10s on the trot in the opening set, there was no exceptional shooting from An, who had broken a 25-year-old Olympic record in the ranking round en route to winning two gold medals (team and mixed) in these Games.

But it was all about her Korean ‘heavyweight tag’ that proved to be the undoing for Deepika who came in as world number one after winning five World Cup gold medals this year.

“Rankings don’t matter much in the Olympics. It happens once in four years and one bad match can cost you a medal. Every match is like a final here.” Deepika, however, said she would keep striving for an Olympic medal.

“As I’m getting old, it’s getting tougher for me every day now. But archery does not stop for me. It’s the only thing I do well. So I will keep trying every time.”