India's archery campaign at the ongoing Olympics is unfolding on expected lines as the fancied men's team, comprising stalwart Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Pravin Jadhav, made a quarterfinal exit with a 2-6 loss to Turkey on Monday. (Olympics Full Coverage | More Sports Stories)
But once again, they could not cope with the famed Olympic pressure and suffered another quarterfinal exit.
Indian archers have never crossed the quarterfinal hurdle in their nine Olympic appearances, having made their debut in Seoul 1988.
With a full team in Paris, archers have three more medal events -- men's and women's individual and mixed team finals -- left.
But those are considered much tougher with more challenging draws, and it would be a miracle if the likes of Bommadevara and Deepika Kumari are able to turn it around.
Score wise, India lost 53-57, 52-55, 55-54, 54-58, summing up their forgettable outing as their best score from the four-setter was 55, which is considered average in the sport.
Earlier, the women's team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, and Bhajan Kaur managed just one 50-plus score (51) when they were knocked out in straight sets by the Netherlands in the quarters.
While the seasoned Deepika and Ankita were the big letdowns in the women's event, on Monday it was India No. 1 Dhiraj, who came a cropper.
Dhiraj, who defeated Nespoli last month to win the Antalya World Cup bronze and qualified as the third seed shooting 681 out of 720, struggled and managed just two 10s and also hit the seven-point red ring twice.
Tarundeep, the four-time Olympian who made his debut in Athens 2004, also did not make his experience count and shot a solitary 10.
Taking into account the cumulative individual scores of the four sets, Dhiraj was the worst on the day, shooting 69 from 80 points.
Tarundeep shot 70, while Pravin, who was seen as the weakest link, was impressive and dropped just five points. He shot four 10s including two X (closer to the centre).
Having finished third in the qualification round, India had the best possible draw, with no 'nemesis' Korea till the final, and they needed two victories to win an elusive Olympic medal.
They were also pitted against lower-ranked Turkey who defeated Colombia in a shoot-off to make the last eight earlier in the day.
Turkey had in their ranks reigning Olympic and world champion Mete Gazoz, 21-year-old Berkim Tumer and 20-year-old Abdullah Yilderimis.
India went on with Tarundeep in the opening role while Dhiraj played the role of the finisher and Jadhav shot in the middle in the three-member team.
Tarundeep and Jadhav started off well shooting 9 and 10 but Dhiraj swayed to the 7-ring. Turkey responded with a 29 for a three-point lead after the first end of three arrows in the opening set.
The 7 seemed to have played a role as Tarundeep was under pressure and shot an 8 to start with. Jadhav and Dhiraj followed with a 9 and 10 but a score of 53 was easily surpassable with Turkey needing just 25 points from three arrows.
Jadhav remained consistent, but Tarundeep and Dhiraj slipped further as the second set was worse when they totalled 52 points.
There was a brief ray of hope when they won the third set by one point after a review.
They needed to win the fourth set to draw and force a shoot-off, but the Indians failed to click as a team and this time they totalled 54, while Turkey got 58 to seal a semi-final berth.
DISASTROUS SHOW
Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Rahul Banerjee termed it a disaster for Indian archery.
"It was really unexpected, especially from Tarun and Dhiraj. They easily hit 55-56, it's no big deal for us. I would say it's the same Olympic pressure, it's still continuing. We have to own up to the responsibility," Banerjee said.
He further blamed the team strategy and said the Sonam Tshering Bhutia-coached side could have altered the sequence after Tarundeep and Dhiraj kept faltering.
"We should have changed the sequence when we kept missing the 10. It should have been an immediate decision. But we followed the same sequence. There was not much wind either. It's mostly mental over-thinking or being scared."
"Now let's hope for the best in mixed and individual events, but that will be sheer luck," Banerjee added.
Indian archers did not have their Korean foreign coach Baek Woongki by their side after not getting accreditation for him, which created a controversy just before the start of the Olympics. The SAI Patiala-based Woongki was hired for the Olympics.
