Archery World Cup | Atanau Das, Deepika Kumari reach individual semi-finals
Deepika Kumari is the third-seeded player in the World Cup
|Getty
India’s top archers Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari entered the semi-finals of their respective events in the ongoing World Cup Stage I in Guatemala City, on Thursday. Tokyo-bound archer Ankita Bhakat, who was the second-seeded player in the main draw, bowed out after a loss in the quarter-finals.
Six Indian archers, who have already qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, along with two reserves are all currently in Guatemala City, for the World Cup Stage I. After strong outings in the qualifying rounds, India’s top archers Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari entered the semi-finals of their respective individual events.
Overcoming the severe winds prevailing at the Sports Complex Los Arcos, Atanu Das had the better of Canadian rival Eric Peters 6-4 to set up a semi-final clash with Mexico’s Angel Alvarado. Having finished in the second round, Atanu directly qualified for the round of 32, where he defeated El Salvador’s Oscar Ticas 6-4 and the overcoming country-mate Pravin Jadhav to make it to the last-four.
Deepika Kumari had the better of Germany’s Michelle Kroppen and set up a date with Alejandra Valencia with of Mexico in the top four. The Indian archer, who had qualified as the third seeded player in the round-of-32, had earlier the defeated USA’s Kelsey Lard and Oympic Silver medallist Mexico’s Aida Roman in a shoot-off.
Meanwhile, India has already reached the quarter-finals in each of the three-team events. The only disappointment was Ankita Bhakat’s exit in the quarter-finals after a loss to Alejanra with scores of 6-2.
