Dhiraj Bommadevara, Ankita Bhakat end 4th after coming within touching distance of India’s 1st archery medal in Olympics history

Indian archers Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara missed out on a bronze medal for India at the Paris Olympics on Friday after losing in the bronze medal match against Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold. This is the closest Indian archers have come to winning a medal at the Olympics.

India has so far won three medals at the Paris Olympics. All three of India’s medals so far have been bronze and have all come from the shooting ranges.

Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara had lost 2-6 to the South Korean pairing of Lim Sihyeon and Kim Woojin in the semi-finals.

Before losing to the South Korean pair, Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara had defeated an Indonesian and a Spanish pair.

Dhiraj had famously been eliminated from the individual archery event at the Paris Olympics despite hitting a 10 with his final arrow. The 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh and his opponent in the second round, Canada’s Eric Peters, had tied with five points each after five sets necessitating a shoot-off. In the single arrow shootoff (where both archers had one arrow to shoot) Dhiraj Bommadevara’s 10 was 2.4 centimetres further from the centre of the target as compared to Peters’ arrow, which is why the Indian was eliminated.

Who is Dhiraj Bommadevara?

Dhiraj Bommadevara, born on September 4, 2001, in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, began his archery journey in 2006 at the Volga Archery Academy in Vijayawada and in 2016 he moved to Army Sports Institute in Pune for advanced training. His father, Bommadevara Shravan Kumar, was a technical official with the Archery Association of India, reflecting a family connection to the sport.

He made his international debut in 2017 and has represented India in numerous international tournaments since then. Dhiraj represented India in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where the Indian Men’s recurve team,
consisting of Atanu Das, Dhiraj Bommadevara, and Tushar Shelke, won the silver medal. He is currently ranked 12th in the world. Throughout his international career, Dhiraj has won a total of 4 gold, 10 silver, and 3 bronze medals. Dhiraj is currently working as Subedar in the Indian Army.

Who is Ankita Bhakat?

Ankita Bhakat was born on June 17, 1998, in Kolkata, West Bengal. She began her archery journey in 2014 with Calcutta Archery Club and later moved to Tata Archery Academy, which has been instrumental in honing her talents.

Ankita Bhakat made her international debut in 2016 in Asia Cup, her significant achievements include winning a gold medal in the team event at the 2019 World Archery Youth Championships and a bronze medal at the 2021 Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Guatemala City. Throughout her international career, Ankita Bhakat has won a total of 4 gold, 3 silver, and 8 bronze medals.

Full list of Indian athletes finishing fourth at Olympics

Before Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara shooter Arjun Babuta had also ended fourth at the Paris Olympics.

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