Dhiraj Bommadevara closes in on Olympic quota

Recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara ranked second in the seeding rounds of the World Archery Championships in Berlin on Tuesday, a bright spark in an otherwise disappointing day for Indian recurve archers.

Ankita Bhakat's 31st place was the next best result in the individual qualifying rounds.

The knockout rounds are set to begin on Wednesday and go on till the end of the week. This is Archery's first qualification event for the 2024 Paris Olympics and has 24 quotas up for grabs.

The top three finishers in men’s and women’s individual recurve, and the top three teams in both men’s and women’s recurve will be awarded quota places. Compound archery will not be a part of the Paris Olympics.

Can Dhiraj win India's 10th Paris quota?

With his 2nd-place finish, Dhiraj has earned two round byes, increasing his chances of a top three finish and a Olympic quota in case the Indian teams cannot seal a quota before that. This would make him the first Indian archer to seal a quota, and the 10th Indian overall. India have so far won 9 quotas for the 2024 Paris Olympics, combined in Shooting and Athletics. Archery is set to be the third sport to enter the list.

India has sent a 12-member team to the World Archery Championships - six in recurve archery and six in compound archery. While the experienced Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam lead the compound section, there is a lack of experience in the recurve section.

Dhiraj, the Vijayawada-based 21-year-old, has seen his world ranking rise from the 200s into around the top 50 since the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. He was the only recurve archer to have won a World Cup medal this year.

The Indian team comprising Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara also finished fourth in the Recurve Mixed Team category, the best finish in the team events.

The Men's team will face USA in the Round of 32, which could be a tricky opposition, before a difficult quarterfinal tie against Korea. The women's team are slated to meet Korea in the semifinals, and on paper, it is the women's team led by Ankita Bhakat who have the best chance to get a top three finish. The mixed team are slated to meet USA in the quarterfinals and Korea in the semis.

World Archery Championships - Recurve Qualification Round Results

Men's Individual: Dhiraj - 2nd - 683, Tushar - 55th - 650, Mrinal - 83rd - 640

Women's Individual: Ankita - 31st - 639, Bhajan - 45th -627, Simranjeet - 51st -625

Men's Team - 9th - 1973

Women's Team - 13th - 1891

Mixed Team - 4th -1322