Archery
Tokyo Olympics: Deepika Kumari reaches quarterfinals in women's individual round
The match went into a shoot off and it was more of a battle of nerves and heart rates than accuracy that won her the match
Deepika Kumari
It was another day of nail-biting moments as India kickstarted a chance to win a medal in Archery. Deepika Kumari the lone Indian woman in the individual round had the last chance to win a medal as she took on World No 8 Ksenia Perova.
The first set went in favour of Deepika as she managed to ease by with a score of 28-25. This included a 10 and was the first of many 10's that she shot throughout the match. Things turned difficult from the 2nd set onwards as the weather conditions were unfavourable to say the least. With rain beginning to fall, it seemed anyones game as Petrova won the 2nd set with a score of 26-27. It was a shot of 7 that destroyed Deepika's chances of winning the set.
The third set came and this time, Deepika edged out Petrova by a single point with a score of 28-27. Her consistent 10 shots were getting her by and we would be hoping for the same from her in the quarterfinals. The tied 4th set was strange as it seemed as though Deepika would kill the game off then and there. However, a combined score of 9-8-9 for both competitors ended the set with 26-26.
Petrova somehow saved her match point and used her chance to effectively shoot a score of 28 in the next round. Deepika succumbed with a 7 in her first shot of the 5th set and managed to only score 25. It was down to a tie breaker for the 2nd day running. Petrova went first and surprisingly shot a 7. It was Deepika carrying on from her husband who shot a 10 the previous day. She nailed a sublime shot into the middle circle and managed to win the shoot off. Truly a great display of nerves if not anything else.
