Paris: India’s hopes for a historic Olympic archery medal were dashed on Saturday when Deepika Kumari fell to South Korea’s Suhyeon Nam in a gripping Women’s Individual quarterfinal match at the Paris Olympics.
In a match that kept fans on the edge of their seats, Deepika challenged the 2nd-seeded Nam across five intense sets, ultimately falling short with scores of 28-26, 25-28, 29-28, 27-29, and 27-29, narrowly missing out on a spot in the semifinals.
The 19-year-old Nam started strong, scoring a perfect 10 on her first attempt. Deepika, however, responded with a series of impressive shots, scoring 9, 10, and 9, to take the first set 28-26 and secure an early lead.
Deepika entered the second set with confidence, hitting a bullseye to start. However, a stray second shot scoring only 6 points allowed Nam to win the set 28-25, evening the score at 2-2.
Both archers delivered stellar performances in the third set, each starting with a 10 and a 9. Deepika managed to clinch the set 29-28 with a bullseye, advancing to a 4-2 lead.
Determined to equalize, Nam began the fourth set with another perfect 10, matched by Deepika. However, Deepika’s subsequent 8-point shot resulted in a 27-29 loss, tying the score at 4-4 with one final set remaining.
In the decisive fifth set, Nam continued her pattern of strong starts with another 10. Deepika matched Nam’s scores until the final shot, where Nam hit the bullseye by a hair’s breadth, clinching the final set 29-27 and taking the match 6-4.