Deepika, Bombayla, Laxmirani reach Round of 32

Indian women's archery team comprising, Deepika Kumari, L. Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi, finished seventh in the Rio Olympics, while individually all of them advanced for the Round of 32 here on Friday.

Deepika started off well to even hit the top spot in the early rounds before stumbling at the halfway mark to finished 20th with a total score of 640 while Bombayla accumulated 638. Laxmirani ended a disappointing 43rd with a total score of 614.

The top three spots were bagged by South Koreans, who also clinched the top spot in the group contest.

Deepika will now face Georgia's Kristine Esebua in the first round; Majhi to face Alexandra Longova of Slovakia while Laishram takes on Baldauff of Austria.

The trio started on a resounding note totalling 162 to be at the second spot at the end of the opening round with Deepika individually at ninth with a score of 56, Laxmirani at 19th with 54 and Bombayla at 35th with 52 points.

In the second round, the Indians dropped to the third place with a total score of 323. However, individually Deepika jumped a place to eighth scoring 110 while Laxmirani dropped to 21st with 107 and Bombayla jumped to 24th scoring 106.

The third round witnessed a drop to fifth in the team's score of 480 with Deepika retaining her eighth place with total score of 164. Laxmirani, however dropped to 40th to total 156 while Bombayla jumped to 23rd, totalling 160.

In the fourth round, Deepika helped India bounce back to third with total score of 649. The Ranchi girl vaulted to third individually after shooting a solid 58 to take her total to 222.

Laxmirani also recuperated to jump to 37th with a total score of 210 while Bombayla jumped to 15th with a total score of 217.

Deepika continued her upward march in the fifth round to top the individual standings with a score of 58 to take her tally to 280 as the team retained the third spot with total score of 813.

However, Laxmirani's continued her roller-coaster ride, dropping to 43rd with a total of 260 while Bombayla started constantly climbing to rise to ninth with a total score of 273.

The halfway mark witnessed India drop to fifth with total score of 962. Individually, Deepika could only manage just 49 to drop to fifth with 329 points.

Laxmirani also dropped to 49th with a total of 306 while Bombayla jumped to eighth with a total score of 327.

After the break, India further dropped to eighth with a total score of 1108 after the seventh round. It turned out to be a nightmare for Deepika, who could shoot just 46, to slide to 18th with a total score of 375.

Laxmirani too dropped to 54th with a total of 355 while Bombayla dropped three places to 11th with a total score of 378.

India managed to rise a place to seventh after the eighth round taking the total to 1268 while individually Deepika shot 54 to rise to 17th with a total of 429.

Laxmirani also gained four places to move up to 50th with a total of 408. Bombayla, however, dropped to 13th, totalling 431.

After the ninth round, India retained their seventh spot totalling 1427. Deepika crawled back to 15th to take her total to 483.

Laxmirani also went up to 45th with a total of 462 while Bombayla slipped to 17th with a total of 482.

The 10th round saw India slip to eighth with overall score of 1577. Deepika fell to 23rd with a total score of 531 while Laxmirani move up to 41st, totalling 515. Bombayla slipped to 22nd with a total of 531.

After the 11th round, India rose to seventh with the total score at 1734. Deepika shot 56 to rise to 18th with a score of 587.

Laxmirani slipped to 45th with a total of 563 while Bombayla dropped to 23rd with a total of 584.

The final round saw India retain the seventh spot with a total score of 1892. Individually, Deepika finished at 20th with a total score of 640.

Laxmirani had a disappointing campaign as she ended 43rd with a score of 614, while Bombayla sparkled in bits to finish 24th with 638 points.

--IANS

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