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India suffered a heartbreak after Atanu Das and Dhiraj Bommadevara both lost in their respective quarterfinal game of the recurve men’s individual event in a shoot-off.
In the first quarterfinal, Atanu Das displayed incredible composure, and the Indian archer showcased his experience to make a comeback in the 3rd set and even take the lead in the 4th set after being 3-1 down.
Das was then leveled at 5-5 after the end of the final set against China’s Xiangshuo Qi, taking the match to a shoot-off. Even in the shoot-off, Atanu managed to shoot a perfect 10 but lost the match because Qi’s shot, which was also a 10, was closer to the center. This extremely close battle was a huge disappointment for India.
In the other quarterfinal that followed soon after Atanu's exit, Dhiraj Bommadevara missed two arrows to lose the sets that he could have easily won. The Indian archer, after winning the first set, missed an arrow, handing the second set to his opponent from Kazakhstan.
Dhiraj once again won the third set before repeating his antics from the second set in the fourth. The two archers had an equal score in the final set, taking the match to a shootoff. In the shoot-off, Dhiraj could only manage a nine as his opponent finished with a perfect 10, thereby snatching away the victory.
The performance by Dhiraj left Indian fans feeling both angry and empathetic towards the Indian archer.
After the performance by the Indian archers, fans on social media took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their anger and disappointment at seeing them narrowly miss out on a place in the semifinal of the event.
Here's how fans reacted to Atanu and Dhiraj’s performance:
While some fans were furious with the archers' performance, others took their side and put some supportive tweets
Despite a disappointing performance after an incredibly close encounter, India’s archers will not return empty-handed from the Asian Games 2023.
An all-Indian final has already been confirmed in the compound men’s individual event while two female archers will compete for a top three finish in the women’s category. The team events for archery will start on October 4, where India will have another chance to add to their medal tally.
