2021 Paralympics: Indian compound archer Rakesh Kumar advances to the next round, compatriot Shyam Sundar bows out

Indian archer Rakesh Kumar defeated Chuen Ka Ngai in the 1/16 elimination round of the men's compound individual archery at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. Rakesh went past Chuen 144-131 on Saturday.

Rakesh Kumar began with a 10, 10, 9 and took a lead of 29-27 at the end of the first three arrows. He continued to find the perfect 10s and was placed in a good position after two ends (six arrows). He had a 6-point lead at 58-52.

With a 87-79 lead at the end of 4 sets of arrows. Rakesh targeted two more 10's and looked in pole position to win the match.

He maintained his lead throughout from start to finish, dropping atleast nine 10s out of the 15 arrows that he targeted. He won 144-131 to enter the round of 16, before eventually winning the match.

Earlier on Friday, Shyam Sundar lost a hard fought match against Matt Stutzman of the USA (139-142) to end his 2021 Paralympics campaign. Shyam was trailing towards the end of the match and arrowed an 8, with almost similar scores in the last set of arrows.

Matt's comfortable lead was enough to see him through despite some shaky last-round scores. The 'Armless Archer' triumphed and moved forward having inspired millions of people across the globe.

Matt Stutzman🇺🇸 the @ArmlessArcher has arrived at the #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/hpHyTxF48q

— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 28, 2021

Rakesh Kumar's next opponent:

Rakesh Kumar will take on Slovakia’s Marian Marecak next. Rakesh's 1/8 elimination round in the men's individual archery match will be held on August 31.

🇮🇳 Para-Archer @RakeshK21328176 defeats #HKG Chuen K Ngai 144-131 in compound open 1/16 Elimination match to advance to the next roundHe will play his 1/8 elimination round on 31 AugustMany congratulations to our champ!#Cheer4India #Praise4Para#Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/V07l4tfQA6

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) August 28, 2021

Rakesh Kumar and other Indian para-archer's ranking round:

Indian compound archer Rakesh Kumar shot a career-best 699 points out of a possible 720 to grab third place in the ranking round of the men’s open section at the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday.

Rakesh Kumar put up a scintillating performance to finish third in the men's compound Individual event. His compatriot Shyam Sundar Swami finished 21st in the ranking round of the men's compound Individual event in Tokyo.

Rakesh scored 699 points, the same as second position holder Iranian Biabani Ramezan. Meanwhile, the Chinese He Zhiao finished on top with 705 points. All the top three para-archers ended the ranking round with their personal best score.

Meanwhile, Vivek Chikara finished 10th with 609 points. Indian archer Jyoti Balyan was also in action on Friday. She managed to score 671 points by the end of the rankings round to finish 15th on the charts.