Paris Olympics: Ankita, Dhiraj make archery mixed team quarterfinals

Paris, Aug 2 (IANS) Indian archers Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara made it to the quarterfinals of the mixed team event after beating Indonesia's Diananda Choirunisa and Arif Pangestu in the round of 16 here on Friday.

The Indians registered a 5-1 (37-36, 38-38, 38-37) win over the Indonesians in the pre-quarterfinals at the Invalides.

India will next play Spain for a place in the semifinals. The match quarterfinal is scheduled at 5:45 pm (IST).

Ankita and Dhiraj hardly broke a sweat as they took the first set with a score of 37-36, before the Indonesian's managed to tie the second set. But, the Indian duo was quick to pocket the third set, wrapping up the victory for the quarterfinal spot.

Earlier, India's campaign in men’s individual archery ended after four-time Olympian Tarundeep Rai bowed out in the opening round and Dhiraj suffered a narrow loss in the second round.

The men's and women's teams have failed to make it past the quarterfinal stage.

Meanwhile, seasoned archer Deepika Kumari and Bhajan Kaur have both made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s individual event, but Ankita crashed out in the first round.

--IANS

bc/