Atanu Das, an Indian archer, is eliminated from the Tokyo Olympics after losing to Takaharu Furukawa of Japan

On Saturday, ace archer Atanu Das bowed out of the men’s individual event after losing to Japan’s Takaharu Furukawa in the 1/8 Eliminations Round at Yumenoshima Park, putting India’s medal hopes in jeopardy (July 31). India’s archery challenge comes to an end with this defeat.

Furukawa advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s individual event by defeating 29-year-old Das 6-4 in the decider.

Furukawa started the match with three consecutive 9s, while Das responded with a 9-8-8, giving the London 2012 silver medalist two points.

Atanu began the second set with a strong 10, but was followed by two 9s as the Japanese aimed for a 9-9-10 tie. Das was the star of the third round, as he levelled the match with a clinical 10-10-8.

The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, with both archers trading points to send the match to a decider. Indian’s nerves got the best of him, and he aimed a poor 8 on the second arrow, giving Takaharu a golden opportunity, which he did not miss – clinching the match.

Furukawa will now compete in quarterfinals against either Jialun Li of China or Ilfat Abdullin of Kazakhstan.

Earlier on Thursday, Atanu stunned third-seeded Jinhyek Oh of South Korea in a nail-biting finish to advance to the 1/8 Elimination round.

Deepika Kumari, Atanu’s wife and teammate, was eliminated from the ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Friday after losing in the women’s individual quarter-finals to South Korean An San. San, the top seed, defeated world number one Deepika 6-0 to advance to the individual event semi-finals.San, who is 20 years old, went on to win her third gold medal in Tokyo after winning the mixed team event and the women’s recurve team event.

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