Hangzhou: Indian archers showed tenacity and authority in equal measure to storm into the quarterfinals in all the six team events of the Asian Games here on Monday.
The Indians played five team elimination rounds and dropped just one set on way to their respective quarterfinal matches in both recurve and compound sections.
India have got a bye into the quarters by virtue of topping the qualifications in the women’s compound team event.
India remained in contention in all five gold medals up for grabs in compound section with all the four archers -- Ojas Deotale, Abhishek Verma, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Aditi Swami -- progressing to their respective individual quarterfinals in the afternoon session.
In the recurve section, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Atanu Das advanced, while India’s campaign ended in women’s individual section, in the only blip of the day.
First, it was the top-seeded compound mixed team of Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam, who showed the way as they dropped just one point from 16 arrows to eliminate UAE’s Amna Alawadhi and Mohammed Binamro 159-151.
The duo will take on formidable Malaysia (No 8 seed) in the quarters, and thereafter, they should have an easy draw till the final.
Then, the Indian recurve mixed pair duo of Atanu Das and Ankita Bhakat were at their resilient best and overcome a first-set deficit to defeat Malayasia in a three-setter.
The fifth seeded Indian duo of Das and Ankita rallied to beat the Malaysian team of Syaqiera Binti Mashayikh and Muhamad Zarif Syahir Bin Zolkepeli 6-2 (39-38, 37-36, 39-33). The Malaysia pair enjoyed a 2-0 lead with three 10s including one X in the first set. But, the experienced Indian duo bounced back with two 10s and went on to draw level, as the Malaysians crumbled under pressure. The Malaysians hit the red-ring (8) once and went on to lose the second by a slender one-point margin.
There was more misery in store for the Malaysians who shot into the red ring thrice (8-8-8), while Das-Ankita drilled in three perfect 10s en route to a six-point win in the third set. The Indian pair sealed the issue with three more 10s in the fourth set and set up a last-eight clash against the fourth-seeded Indonesians.
Should they overcome the Indonesian challenge, the Indians may run into the top-seeded Koreans in a potential semifinal clash in the Olympic-qualifying event.