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On Sunday, June 16, Ankita Bhakat won the Paris 2024 quota for India in women’s recurve archery at the World Archery Final Qualifier in Antalya, Turkey. The 25-year-old defeated Gabrielle Monica Bidaure of the Philippines in straight sets to ensure that India got a quota for the women’s recurve archery competition at the Olympics in Paris next month.
Ankita Bhakat, who got the ninth seeth in the women’s recurve competition at the World Archery Final Qualifier, got a bye in the first round. She went on to defeat two Israeli archers in the second and third round, taking down Shelley Hilton 6-4 (24-26, 25-25, 28-20, 25-25, 27-25) before getting one over Mikaella Moshe 7-3 (28-25, 25-27, 27-27, 28-25, 26-25).
In the pre-quarterfinal round, Ankita Bhakat inflicted a loss on Gabrielle Monica Bidaure by a margin of 6-0 (26-23, 28-22, 28-23), to advance through to the last 8 stage of the World Archery Final Qualifier. But, most importantly, she booked a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for an Indian archer in the women’s recurve archery competition.
Notably, her compatriot, the third seed Bhajan Kaur, is also in the fray to get past the pre-quarterfinal round of the World Archery Final Qualifier if she manages to defeat Urska Cavic of Slovenia. She got the better of Urantungalag Bishindee of Mongolia with a score of 6-2 (29-27, 28-26, 26-29, 27-24) in the third round after receiving a couple of byes.
However, Deepika Kumari, one of the top archers from India, suffered a shock 4-6 (26-28, 25-27, 23-26, 24-25, 27-29) defeat at the hands of Azerbaijan’s Yaylagul Ramazanova in the third round after receiving a bye in the first couple of rounds.
Here is the clip of Ankita Bhakat clinching the Paris 2024 quota for India in women's recurve archery:
