Olympics: India's archery campaign ends without medal after Das loses
India's archery campaign at the Olympics ended without a medal after Atanu Das lost to Takaharu Furukawa 6-4 in an intense five-setter in the men's individual pre-quarterfinals on Saturday. Das failed to find a 10 in the fifth set and slipped to the red circle for an 8 that proved costly as Furukawa sealed the issue by a one-point margin in the decider.
His wife, Deepika Kumari, is already out of contention
Das was the lone archer in the fray after his world number one wife Deepika Kumari succumbed to a 0-6 rout by eventual gold medalist An San of Korea on Friday. Two days after knocking out Oh Jin-Hyek in the last-32 match, Das could not overcome the Japanese, a silver medalist in the 2012 Olympics, and a team bronze medalist in Tokyo Games.
What happened in Das's match against Furukawa?
Das bounced back from a 1-3 deficit to level 3-3 as the duo went neck-and-neck in the fourth set before the local favorite sealed the issue in the fifth set by just one point (28-27). Das shot twice in the red circle (8-8) in his last two arrows of the opening set to lose by two points (25-27).
The players tied the fourth set
Starting off with a 10, Das gained control but the Japanese too matched him, shooting an identical 28-28 to split the second set with the Indian trailing 1-3. Das showed fine composure, drilling two 10s en route to taking the fourth set 28-27 but there was more drama in store as both tied the fourth set.
