Bharat’s archery star Deepika Kumari advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s individual event after a tight victory over Germany’s Michelle Kroppen in the 1/8 elimination round on Saturday. However, her compatriot Bhajan Kaur faced disappointment as she was eliminated following a narrow defeat by Indonesia’s Diananda Choirunisa.
Deepika Kumari displayed remarkable composure, overcoming her German opponent with a score of 6-4. She started strong, scoring 27-24 in the first set to earn two points. The second set was closely contested, ending in a 27-27 tie, resulting in shared points.
Deepika regained her lead in the third set, winning 26-25 and adding two more points to her tally. Although Kroppen won the fourth set 29-27, reducing the deficit, Deepika remained ahead by two points going into the final set. Both archers matched each other with scores of 27 in the fifth set, splitting the points and securing Deepika’s victory.
Conversely, Bhajan Kaur fought valiantly but was edged out by Diananda Choirunisa. By the third set, Choirunisa held a 4-2 lead. She won the first set 29-28, but Bhajan responded by taking the second set 27-25.
The Indonesian archer then captured the third set 28-26. The fourth set ended in a 28-28 tie, pushing the score to 5-3 in Choirunisa’s favour. Bhajan managed to force a shoot-off by tying the fifth set at 27-27. However, in the shoot-off, Bhajan scored eight while her opponent scored nine, resulting in Bhajan’s 5-6 loss and elimination from the competition.
