Bombayla Devi got past her 1/32 elimination round with ease, swatting aside Austrian Laurence Baldauff’s challenge in a matter of minutes. The Indian, who had suffered heartbreak in the team event, kept her composure throughout as the 41-year-old Laurence faltered under pressure. The Indian sealed a 6-2 win to set up a tough challenge in the next round.
The 31-year-old Bombayla Devi Laishram had a poor start as she shot 9, 7 and 8 through her first 3 arrows. Laurence Baldauff, who is 10 years older than the Indian, had a consistent start by shooting 9 in each of her three arrows to take the lead against the World No. 69.
The experienced Indian levelled the score in the second series by scoring 28 points in her three shots. The Austrian had lost the series before the final shot as she needed an 11 in the final shot, but her wayward arrow could only get her 6 points as Bombayla won 2 points after a 28-23 series win.
In the third series, the most experienced member of the Indian archery team took the lead by shooting a 27 (9, 9, 9) as compared to a lowly 23 (7, 7, 9) by the World No. 93. With this win, Bombayla had 1 foot in the Round of 32 as she needed just 2 more points in the next 2 series.
There was no need for the fifth series despite the Austrian’s sensational start of scoring 10. Bombayla, at her consistent best, scored 9 in her first arrow. The second arrow was where Laurence’s fate was sealed as a lapse in concentration resulted in just 6 points for her through her penultimate shot. Bombayla hit a 9 again and the Austrian responded with an 8-point shot. The 31-year-old needed just 7 to go through, but she bettered that by getting 8 to seal the final series 26-24.
Bombayla Devi will now face a tough challenge from Chinese Taipei’s Lin Shih-Chia, who is ranked 10th in the world currently. The match is scheduled to take place at 6.35 pm
