Gwangju: Sixth-time unlucky. India’s most decorated archer Deepika Kumari once again failed to rise above her familiar inconsistency, crashing out in the Round of 32 at the World Championships here on Thursday, while 15-year-old Gatha Khadake shone bright to become the lone recurve archer from the country in pre-quarterfinals.
Despite being pre-seeded into the third round after a sixth-place finish in qualification, the four-time Olympian Deepika was outshot by Indonesia’s unheralded Diananda Choirunisa in a five-setter.
All eyes will now be on Friday’s round of 16, where Gatha faces the toughest challenge of her budding career against the reigning Paris Olympic champion and world No 1 Lim Si-hyeon.
The 22-year-old Korean, in red-hot form, had eliminated Ankita Bhakat 6-2 with six perfect 10s across two sets.
For India, the young Gatha remains their last hope and it remains to be seen if the debutant from Pune manages to win the country its first medal in recurve section, since Den Bosch in 2019. If Deepika floundered, Gatha displayed composure and precision, defying her age. Seeded 14th after her 666 points in qualifying, the teenager had to
start from Round 1.