Archery
Tokyo Olympics: India through to the quarterfinals of the Mixed Team event in Archery
India made a stellar comeback to seal a spot in the next round despite being a set down at the beginning.
Deepika and Pravin at the event this morning (source- Getty)
At the beginning of the mixed round in Archery, there was definitely an air of doubt regarding how far India would progress. This was mainly due to the performance of all 4 Indian archers in the individual rounds on the previous day. However, Deepika and Pravin both upped their game and back to being close to their best on the second day of Archery.
The first set was a test of nerves with India losing by 1 point with a set score of 36-35. It was tied at 18-18 but could no take advantage of the lapse in concentration by the Chinese Taipei.
The second set proved to be a start of a good show by India. Deepika Kumari scored two 10's and Pravin Jadhav followed up with a 10 and an 8. It was a tied set score of 38 and the team of Chang Chih-chun and Lin Chia-en also notched up 38.
It was down to India to compulsorily win the 3rd set otherwise it would be all over for them. In a dream timeline of events, both Pravin and Deepika scored 2 ten's each and ended the score in favour of India with 40 points. Any slip up by the Chinese Taipei would see them lose the set and it they did so majorly by ending the set with 35 points.
The tie breaker was brought in as the 4th set and both the countries were tied at 3-3. The Chinese Taipei scored 19 in their first round. It seemed to be slipping away from India as they scored 17 points in their first two shots.
But as luck would have it, the Chinese Taipei hit an 8 and a 9 to take their round score to 36. The odds were still stacked against India with a requirement of two 10's a necessity from Deepika and Pravin. It was a phenomenal finish as they both scored two consecutive centre shots to take their score to 37 and edge through to the quarter finals.
