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Dhiraj Bommadevara secured India's first Paris Olympics quota in the recurve archery on Saturday, November 11. The World No.15 reached the men's final of the Asian Continental Qualifier Tournament (ACQT) in Bangkok, where he lost to Lin Zih-Siang.
Both finalists for both men and women's categories in individual events automatically confirm Olympic qualifications for their country. Dhiraj started Day 2 with emphatic 6-0 wins against the Iranian duo of Sadegh Ashrafi Bavili (quarterfinal) and Mohammadhossein Golshani Asl (semifinal).
He maintained his dominance throughout the tournament as he did not thow a single set until the final. The Andhra Pradesh-born archer won 13 sets in a row before Lin Zih-Siang ended the streak in the gold medal game.
The Indian had the opportunity to seal the match with a 5-3 lead after the fourth set but squandered the chance with a 25-26 loss in the fifth. This meant that Lin enforced the final to a shootout, where he won 10-9 to clinch the gold.
Earlier in the day, Lin blanked veteran Indian archer Tarundeep Rai 6-0 in the quarterfinal before getting the better of Hong Kong's Kwok Yin Chai 6-4 in the five-set thrilling semi-final.
India miss qualification in women's recurve archery
Ankita Bhakat was the lone Indian left in contention for an Olympic spot on Day 2 after Bhajan Kaur and Tisha Punia bowed out of the ACQT in the pre-quarters on Friday. The World No.95 Ankita lost to Uzbekistan's higher-ranked Ziyodakhon Abdusattorova 6-4 in a five-set quarterfinal.
After winning the first set with a heavy scoreline of 29-23, Ankita shared the points in the second at 27-27 before Ziyodakhon pipped the Indian in the third with 25-24. Both the archers leveled at 27-27 for the second time in their tie, leaving it to the fifth set to be a decider.
Ankita missed the opportunity, targeting three successive 8s, while her Uzbek opponent covered up her lackluster first-shot 7 with a 9 and 10 to knock the Indian out of the competition.
