Paris Olympics 2024: Ankita Bhakat best-placed Indian at 11th in individual, women's team through to quarters

First Published Jul 25, 2024, 5:34 PM IST | Last Updated Jul 25, 2024, 5:34 PM IST

Debutant Ankita Bhakat outperformed seasoned archers like Deepika Kumari to become the highest-ranked Indian archer, placing 11th in the women's individual recurve qualifications at the Paris Olympics. This achievement contributed to India securing a quarterfinal spot in the team event by finishing fourth on Thursday.

Ankita, 26, led the Indian women with 666 points, followed by Bhajan Kaur, who ranked 22nd with 559 points, and Deepika Kumari, who ranked 23rd with 658 points.

In the team event, India secured the fourth spot with a score of 1983 points. South Korea led the standings with 2046 points, followed by China in second place and Mexico in third.

The top four teams in the standings advance directly to the quarterfinals, while teams ranked 5th to 12th compete in the Round of 16.

India will face the winner of the France vs. Netherlands match in the quarterfinals. If they progress past the quarters, they could face a semifinal clash with the formidable Korean team.

The Korean women's team has been dominant in the Olympics, having won their ninth consecutive medal in Tokyo three years ago.

In the individual section, Korea's Lim Sihyeon set a new world record with a score of 694 to top the standings, while her compatriot Suhyeon Nam secured second place with 688 points. China's Yang Xiaolei finished third with 673 points.

Ankita Bhakat, hailing from Bengal and representing Tata Academy, emerged as the surprise standout for India, while four-time Olympian Deepika Kumari faltered, recording her worst-ever qualification result at the Games.

For the first time, Deepika Kumari will miss out on the mixed team berth, with Ankita Bhakat emerging as the top Indian archer.

Ankita will team up with the top Indian finisher in the men's qualification for the mixed team finals.