Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das on Monday won a bronze medal in the mixed team recurve at the Asian Archery Championships.
The Indian women's recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Simranjeet Kaur's fairy-tale run was halted by Chinese Taipei in a one-sided final at the World Cup Stage 3, in Paris, on Sunday.
Transition struggle for Indian archers in forgettable 2022
Making a comeback after more than seven months, World No 3 Jyothi, who was sidelined in the Asian Games trial, is also in the hunt for an individual medal, having advanced into the semi-final.
In pursuit of an elusive Olympic medal for India in archery, power couple Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das have left their 11-month-old daughter behind to find lost form and hone their skills under the legendary coach Kim Hyung-Tak, at a South Korean countryside.
They will be against Chinese Taipei in the final on Sunday.
With the team finals scheduled on July 28 (men) and 29 (women), ahead of the individuals on August 2 (women) and Aug 3 (men), the archers will look to open the tally for India.
The 47-year-old has developed swelling in both his legs after his injections could not be administered due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indians withered late resistance from the French pair to seal the contest 152-149, a first-ever World Cup gold for India in the compound mixed team event.
A few Indian stars will have to go through the disappointment of watching all the action from afar.
Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumari confessed on Monday that she needs to stop buckling under the pressure of performing at the Olympic Games and approach the biggest sporting stage from a different perspective to achieve desired results in future.
Deepika shot 668 out of a possible 720 points at the 72-arrow 70-metre round to qualify for the knock-out round while Atanu Das was ranked 19th in the men's section.
India's No 1 woman archer Deepika Kumari is busy working on the mental side of her game in an effort to break her medal jinx in the sport at the highest level.
Manu Bhaker and Deepika Kumari will be keen to make up for their below-par starts as they take centrestage on Day 7 of the Tokyo Olympics, on Friday.
A six-strong squad which has three male and equal number of female archers was selected for the quadrennial extravaganza.
This is Deepika's fifth World Cup stage event team gold medal.
The compound mixed pair of Jyothi Surekha Vennam and her debutant partner Ojas Deotale cruised into the final to confirm a second medal for India in the Archery World Cup.
The couple exchanged rings in an engagement ceremony in Ranchi on Monday and will tie the knot next year.
The Archery Association of India (AAI) also have roped in two-time Italian World Cup winner Sergio Pagni, who is accompanying the compound team to the Turkey World Cup.
Bhavani, who reached Tokyo on Tuesday, wasted no time to start her training.
Deepika Kumari has failed to make the Indian squad for the upcoming Asian Games
Indian archer Atanu Das expressed disappointment at being denied the chance to play the mixed team event with his world No. 1 wife Deepika Kumari, whom he credited for his stunning victory over two-time Olympic champion Oh Jin Hyek in the men's individual even at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.
The trio of Bombayala Devi, Deepika Kumari and Rimil Buriuly came up with a brilliant performance to beat the mighty South Koreans in the final of the recurve team final in Poland on Sunday.
Deepika, Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari will have to finish in top-3 to make the last available berth for the Tokyo Olympics which opens on July 23.
Atanu Das, competing as a neutral athlete under the World Archery flag due to the suspension of the Indian federation, beat Jin Hayek Oh of Korea in the shoot-off match for the bronze medal.
Indian challenge in the individual archery recurve section is almost over with all archers save Deepika Kumari have crashed out of their respective events.
India clinched one gold and one bronze in the recurve section to finish second behind Korea with six medals in the Asian Archery Championship that concluded in Chinese Taipei on Saturday.
'My day starts off with Pranayam and visualisation practice for about 45 minutes. After breakfast, it's time to learn some cooking'
After failing to secure the team quota at the World Championships in June last year, the Indian women's archery team will have their last shot to secure the full Olympics quota in Paris, as a separate tournament is planned ahead of the World Cup in June next year.
Four-time silver medallist Deepika Kumari was beaten by Tan Ya-ting in straight sets to make an embarrassing first round exit from the Archery World Cup Final in Rome on Sunday.
While a billion hearts would pray for all the participants to do well, all eyes would be set on the duo of Deepika Kumari/Atanu Das, the four shooters and Mirabai Chanu to open India's medals count.
'Watch our Indian athletes in Tokyo Olympics,' Virat Kohli said in a video
Das failed to score a 10 in the fifth set and slipped to the red-circle for an 8, which proved costly, as home favourite Takaharu Furukawa sealed the issue by a solitary point margin in the decider.
Das saw off a tough challenge from Chinese Taipei's Deng Yu-Cheng earlier in the day.
Indian athletes, including the boxers and shooters, hit the ground running as they started their pre-Olympic training, hoping to live up to massive expectations in the pandemic-hit Games in Tokyo.
That Deepika uses a heavy bow of 44-pound, an excess of four pounds from what the women archers normally use, is also adding to her misery.
Masks, sanitisers and strict social distancing measures would be in place when top Indian archers Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das tie the knot at Morabadi in Ranchi on Tuesday. Getting hitched amid the COVID-19 pandemic to make use of the "free time", the duo's invitation cards carry small notes that request the guests to adhere to the government's COVID-19 guidelines.
Power of love helps archer Atanu Das defeat 2012 champion Oh.
Former India opener and BJP MP Gautam Gambhir on Thursday clarified that the archery ground at the Yamuna Sports Complex has only been upgraded after some top Indian archers, including World No 1 Deepika Kumari, raised concerns about it being converted into a cricket field.
Deepika managed to stay in the top 10 in the qualification round with a total score of 663.
