Indian Archers draw blank in Olympics as Atanu fails

Rio de Janeiro: Indian archery campaign in the Olympics ended on a blank note with last of their hopes Atanu Das failing in the 1/8 individual elimination round at Sambodromo here today. The lone Indian men archer was pitted against South Korea’s Lee Seugyun and though he put up a spirited display but that was not enough to make the next stage. The Indian went down 4-6 and Indian hopes were extinguished. Few hardened optimist Indian were present at the venue in a chilly conditions .The tried to pep up Atanu Das hoping against hopes. However if the handful of supporters still believed in miracle that did not happened. Atanu’s rival was world No. 8 Lee but then one is expected to take on World’s best in the Olympics. The weather was chilly and atmosphere around the venue gloomy but these things did not impact the Korean who won the first set 30-28,  Atanu fought back spiritedly firing three 10-pointers in the second to win the set 30-28 to level scores 2-2 before a tied 27-27 third set had them splitting points. Though The Indian was consistent in his performance shooting 10s and 9s in each of the sequences, his effort fell bit short and that made all the difference. The Korean s fired 9, 10 and 9 for an aggregate of 28 points in the fourth and Atanu came up with three shots of nine, falling behind 3-5. An identical score of 28-28 in the fifth set was enough for the 21 year-old Korean to make the quarters. Though chilly wind and breeze made it tough for Atanu but it was a level playing field as the conditions were same for all the archers. “IN condition i did well, put up good fight in four sets, but breeze and wind effected “ Atanu said but hastened to add that he was not making any excuses