It was a positive start for India at the Paris Olympics, as the men's and women's teams qualified for the quarter-finals in the archery recurve event. Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur, and Deepika Kumari scored an impressive 666 points to finish fourth in the standings, while the trio of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Ramesh Jadhav finished third in the men's team event.

In the men's ranking round, Dhiraj Bommadevara made a brilliant comeback to finish fourth in the singles qualifying. Bommadevara was placed 24th at the end of the first half with 335 points but made a brilliant comeback, hitting 9 Xs and fifteen 10s to finish 681 in the ranking round; he was five points behind the top-placed Kim Woojin of South Korea.

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Seasonal archer Tarundeep Rai was the next best at 14th place, with 674 points. However, Pravin Ramesh Jadhav was eliminated from the singles event, as he finished 39th. Only the Top-32 qualify for the first round.

The men's team finished behind South Korea (2049) and hosts France (2025), ending at 2013 points.

In the women's event, Ankita Bhakat outshone seasoned veterans like Deepika Kumari to become the best-placed Indian archer, ranking 11th in the women’s individual archery recurve qualifications.

The 26-year-old Ankita, hailing from Bengal, scored an impressive 666 points, leading the Indian contingent. Her compatriots Bhajan Kaur and Deepika Kumari followed with 659 and 658 points, placing 22nd and 23rd, respectively. The 2024 event marks Ankita's debut at the Olympics

In the team event, the Indian women's team secured the fourth position with a combined score of 1983 points. South Korea topped the standings with 2046 points, followed by China and Mexico, which placed second and third, respectively.

The top four teams earned direct entry into the quarterfinals, bypassing the Round of 16 fixtures, where teams ranked fifth to twelfth will compete for the remaining spots.

The outcome of the match between France and the Netherlands will determine India women's team's quarterfinal opponent. If successful in the quarterfinals, India could face a formidable challenge against the South Korean team, renowned for their dominance in Olympic archery.

The Korean women's team has been particularly invincible, securing their ninth consecutive Olympic medal in Tokyo three years ago.

In the individual competition, Korea’s Lim Sihyeon set a new world record with a score of 694, topping the standings. Her compatriot, Suhyeon Nam, finished second with 688 points, while China’s Yang Xiaolei secured the third position with 673 points.

Ankita's success overshadowed a disappointing outing for Deepika Kumari, a four-time Olympian who recorded her worst-ever qualification result at the Games. As a result, Deepika missed out on the mixed team berth for the first time, with Ankita set to partner Dhiraj Bommadevara in the men’s qualification for the mixed team finals.

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