BANGKOK: Dhiraj Bommadevara clinched India’s first Paris Olympics quota in archery when he bagged a silver at the Asian Continental Qualification Tournament on Saturday.
After his senior colleague Tarundeep Rai’s last-eight exit, Bommadevara was the lone Indian in the fray and the 22-year-old did not disappoint, cruising into the final with two straight-set wins.
The Asian CQT offered individual quotas to the two countries that made the finals in men’s and women’s sections.
But Dhiraj failed to win the gold, losing to his Chinese Taipei rival Zih-Siang Lin 5-6 (29-28, 27-29, 28-28, 30-28, 25-26) (9-10) in an intense shoot-off. Dhiraj first ousted Sadegh Ashrafi Bavili of Iran 6-0 (28-27, 28-25, 28-27) in the quarterfinal, then in the semi-final he knocked out another Iranian Mohammadhossein Golshani 6-0 (30-27, 29-25, 29-27).
India however failed to secure a quota in the women’s individual section after Ankita Bhakat made a quarterfinal exit, losing to Ziyodakhon Abdusattorova of Uzbekistan.
The Tata Academy archer was leading 3-1 after a solid first set but only to slip away and go down 4-6 (29-23, 27-27, 24-25, 27-27, 24-26)