Indiaโs top archers Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari battled windy conditions to storm into their respective semi-finals in the recurve section of the Archery World Cup stage 1 in Guatemala on Thursday.
Defying severe winds at the Sports Complex Los Arcos in Guatemala, Das defeated his Candian rival Eric Peters 6-4 to set up a semi-final clash with Angel Alvarado of Mexico.
Qualified straight to the round of 32 after finishing second in the rankings round, Das defeated Oscar Ticas of El Salvador 6-4 first up before ousting his teammate Pravin Jadhav by an identical scoreline to make the last-four.
These four recurve men will shoot for gold at the first stage of the 2021 Hyundai #Archery World Cup this Saturday. ๐๐ฅ๐น
— World Archery (@worldarchery) April 22, 2021
๐ณ๐ฑ Steve Wijler
๐ช๐ธ Daniel Castro
๐ฒ๐ฝ Angel Alvarado
๐ฎ๐ณ Atanu Das#ArcheryWorldCup #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/1QaRDopJjg
Deepika, who qualified as number three seed, downed German archer Michelle Kroppen as she will next face Alejandra Valencia of Mexico in the last four.
Deepika had earlier defeated Kelsey Lard of the USA 6-0 in round two and overcame London Olympics silver medalist, Aida Roman of Mexico, in the shootoff 6-5 (10-9).
These four recurve women will shoot for gold at the first stage of the 2021 Hyundai #Archery World Cup this Saturday. ๐๐ฅ๐น
— World Archery (@worldarchery) April 22, 2021
๐บ๐ธ Mackenzie Brown
๐ท๐ด Madalina Amaistroaie
๐ฎ๐ณ Deepika Kumari
๐ฒ๐ฝ Alejandra Valencia#ArcheryWorldCup #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/SEVqBcoaPe
Both Das and Kumari are now the highest remaining seeds in their respective individual categories.
Indian couple Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari will shoot for individual golds this weekend in Guatemala City! ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ณ#ArcheryWorldCup #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/AP8uALA0WY
— World Archery (@worldarchery) April 22, 2021
However, there was heartbreak in store for Ankita Bhakat as the second seed Indian lost to Alejanra 6-2 in the last eight. Earlier in the menโs category, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Tarundeep Rai lost in the 2nd round.
โIโve been working for so many years, and Iโm finally showing some progression,โ Das told the World Archery website after his quarter-final.
โIt would be great to win, and to see Deepika do the same,โ he added.
The Indian has never been an individual winner on the circuit. His previous best was a fourth-place finish in Antalya in 2016.
โIโm feeling good, because everyone was wondering when the international competition was going to start,โ Das said.
โIt has started for me, and it is a good start. Iโm working on myself, on my mental side and I think this is helping me a lot to perform well,โ he added.
(With PTI inputs)