Paris Olympics: India's Men's Archery Team Falls to Turkey in Quarterfinals

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The Indian men's archery team, consisting of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Jadhav, faced a challenging quarterfinal match against Turkey at the Paris Olympics, ultimately losing 2-6. This defeat ended their journey in the team event and dashed another medal hope for India on the day.

The match began with high hopes as both teams lined up, ready for the intense competition. However, from the outset, the Indian team struggled to find their rhythm. In the first set, India managed a score of 53, but Turkey's consistent performance saw them take the lead with a score of 57. This early setback set the tone for the rest of the match, with India trailing 0-2 (two points awarded for winning the set).

The second set saw a continuation of India's struggle to hit the bull's eye. The Indian archers shot a sequence of 8, 9, and 8 to begin the set on another poor note before ending the set with a total of 52. In contrast, the Turkish team maintained their form, scoring 55 and extending their lead to 4-0. Follow our elaborated Paris Olympics Coverage

In the third set, there was a glimmer of hope for India. The team managed to score 55, edging out Turkey by one point, who scored 54. This narrow set win brought the score to 2-4, reigniting the possibility of a comeback. However, the pressure proved too much, and the fourth set saw another close contest. India scored 54 but Turkey sealed the win with a 58, finalizing the match at 6-2 in favor of Turkey.

Throughout the match, individual performances had moments of brilliance but were marred by inconsistencies. Dhiraj Bommadevara's poor seven-pointer in the last set proved costly, especially against the precision of Turkey's Mete Gazoz, who scored a 10 with his final shot. This stark difference in execution highlighted the gap between the two teams on the day.

The detailed scores across the sets were 53-57, 52-56, 55-54, and 54-58. The Indian team's inability to consistently hit high scores, contrasted with Turkey's steady performance, ultimately led to their exit from the competition. The loss was a significant disappointment for the Indian contingent, as the men's archery team was seen as a strong medal contender.

With this defeat, India's focus for the day shifted to other events, notably Manika Batra's table tennis match against France's World No. 18 Prithika Pavade.