Pravin Jadhav (Services) and Deepika Kumari (Jharkhand) topped the Indian men and women’s selection trials for the Tokyo Olympic Games archery competition after the final selection trials which concluded in the Army Sports Institute in Pune on Monday.
Petroleum Sports Promition Board’s Atanu Das (7.5 points) and Services’ Tarundeep Rai (6) joined Pravin Jadhav (8) as members of the Indian men’s team by finishing second and third. Despite their inconsistent showing, Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai rode on strong performances in the trials in January to hold on to spots in the side.
Tarundeep Rai was boosted by the 1 point he got as part of the squad that earned India the Olympic quota. B Dhiraj (Andhra Pradesh) and Jayanta Talukdar (Jharkhand) missed forcing a tie with him but it must be said that Dhiraj was very impressive in the trials here, ranking fourth after eight rounds of shooting 36 arrows and then winning five of the seven round robin matches.
Pravin Jadhav, who is from Satara in Maharashtra, was a 400m and 800m runner before he took up archery. Along with Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai, Pravin Jadhav not only helped India secure a quota in the Olympic team event but also was part of the squad that won the World Championship team silver in ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands in June 2019.
Deepika Kumari’s consistency saw her garner 9 points and retain the right to compete in the Olympic Games. Her Jharkhand team-mates Ankita Bhakat, 22, and World Cadet Champion Komolika Bari, 19, took the second and third spots in the team that will compete in the final Olympic qualifying tournament to see if two more women can join 26-year-old Deepika in the women’s individual draw.
Madhu Vedwan, who finished fourth, won bragging rights as the best woman in match play, winning six of her seven round robin contests on Monday. But Bombayla Devi’s meltdown over the last three days was baffling. Coming into the final trials in third place, she shot poorly in the eight rounds and won just two of her seven round robin matches.
Overall placings:
Men: 1. Pravin Jadhav (Services Sports Control Board) 8 points; 2. Atanu Das (Petroleum Sports Promotion Board) 7.5; 3. Tarundeep Rai (Services Sports Control Board) 6; 4. B Dhiraj (Andhra Pradesh) 5 (3); 5. Jayanta Talukdar (Jharkhand) 5 (2); 6. Kapil (Railways) 4.5; 7. Yashdeep Bhoge (Maharashtra) 2; 8. Sukhmani Babrekar (Maharashtra) 1.
Women: 1. Deepika Kumari (Jharkhand) 9 points; 2. Ankita Bhakat (Jharkhand) 7; 3. Komolika Bari (Jharkhand) 5.5; 4. Madhu Vedwan (Uttar Pradesh) 4.5; 5. Sangeeta (Haryana) 3.5 (3); 6. L Bombayala Devi (Railways) 3.5 (1); 7. Ridhi (Haryana) 2.5; 8. Premilaben Baria (Gujarat) 1.5.
The results (Selection trials III)
Men
Event 1 (8 rounds, 70m): 1. Pravin Jadhav 2727; 2. Atanu Das 2695; 3. Jayanta Talukdar 2688; 4. B Dhiraj 2677; 5. Kapil 2673; 6. Sukhamani Babrekar 2646; 7. Tarundeep Rai 2643; 8. Yashdeep Bhoge 2632.
Event 2 (Round Robin): 1. Pravin Jadhav 6.25 points (6 match points, 0.25 bonus); 2. B Dhiraj 5.25 (5, 0.25); 3. Jayanta Talukdar 3.5 (4, -0.50); 4. Tarundeep Rai 3 (3, 0); 5. Yashdeep Bhoge 3 (3, 0); 6. Kapil 2.75 (3, -0.25); 7. Atanu Das 1.5 (2, -0.5); 8. Sukhamani Babrekar 1 (2, -1).
Women
Event 1 (8 rounds, 70m): 1. Deepika Kumari 2689 points; 2. Ankita Bhakat 2638; 3. Sangeeta 2603; 4. Ridhi 2602; 5. Komalika Bari 2601; 6. Madhu Vedwan 2589; 7. Premilaben Baria 2511; 8. Bombayla Devi 2429.
Event 2 (Round Robin): 1. Madhu Vedwan 5.75 (6 match points, -0.25 penalty); 2. Komolika Bari 4.25 (4, bonus 0.25); 3. Deepika Kumari 4 (4, 0); 4. Ankita Bhakat 4 (4, 0); 5. Sangeeta 3.5 (4, -0.50); 6. Ridhi 2.75 (3, -0.25); 7. Bombayla Devi 0.50 (2, -1.50); 8. Premilaben Baria -0.25 (1, -1.25).
Image (top): Pravin Jadhav (Photo courtesy: World Archery)
