"It'll be better next time": India archer Ankita Bhakat looking to build on performance at Paris Olympics
Aug 04, 2024
Paris [France], August 5 : After missing out on India's first medal in archery at the Olympics by a whisker, Ankita Bhakat asserted that next time the result will be better.
India's hunt for its first medal in archery at the Olympics was on the verge of ending. But Ankita and Dhiraj Bommadevara suffered a heartbreaking loss in the bronze medal match in the mixed team event.
Despite making history by becoming the first pair to reach the semi-finals at the Olympics in a mixed archery event, Ankita and Dhiraj's arrows missed the mark at the decisive moment. The Indian duo missed the mark and lost the bronze medal match by 6-2 against the American duo Casey and Brandy.
Despite suffering a gut-wrenching loss, Ankita dwelled on the positives and told ANI, "I am happy that we were able to make it to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, we lost the bronze medal. It would have been momentous had we been able to win the bronze. This has been the best result in the Olympics so far and it'll be better the next time. We will have to be more confident and bold to be able to win a medal. We will deliberate on our performance with our coach when we reach home."
Her compatriot Bhajan Kaur also stood on the cusp of making history but a single shot ended her campaign in Paris.
While facing Indonesia's Diananda Choirunisa in the Round of 16, Bhajan was one shot away from storming into the quarter-finals.
But the 18-year-old lost the game in the shoot-off narrowly as she managed to hit the red zone to get eight in response to Choirunisa's nine.
The young Indian archer reflected on her journey as an archer and was adamant about not repeating the mistakes next time.
"The next time, we will try not to repeat the mistakes we made this time and reach further in the game. I have been doing archery since school, after which my father started coaching me. Then I got into Tata Archery Academy. We will deliberate on our performance with our coach when we reach home," Bhajan said.
Following their defeats, India's challenge at the archery ended at the Paris Olympics without a medal.
