Veteran archer Deepika Kumari’s Olympic journey came to an end on Saturday as she faced a 4-6 loss to Korea’s Suhyeon Nam in the women’s quarterfinals, effectively concluding India’s archery campaign at the Paris Olympics.
Kumari had advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Germany’s Michelle Kroppen 6-4 earlier in the day. Despite a previous victory over Nam in the Shanghai World Cup semifinals, Kumari struggled to replicate her earlier form.
The match was tightly contested, with the two archers tied 4-4 after four sets. However, Nam’s consistent performance in the decisive fifth set earned her a spot in the semifinals. Kumari’s inconsistency, particularly with scores of six and seven in the second and fourth sets, contributed to her defeat.
In the opening set, Kumari scored 28 to Nam’s 26, taking a 2-0 lead. However, Nam equalized by winning the second set 28-25. Kumari regained the lead with a 29-28 win in the third set, but Nam responded by winning the fourth set 29-27.
In the final set, Kumari scored 9, 9, and 9, while Nam secured the win with scores of 10, 9, and 10. The loss caps off a disappointing performance for Kumari, who had previously faced criticism for her performance in the team event.
