With a few hours to go before India’s sole male archer, Atanu Das starts his bid in the knock-out stages of the Rio Olympics 2016, the men’s individual recurve draw has witnessed a shocking upset on Monday. World No.1 and top seed Kim Woojin was sent packing 2-6 in the Round of 32 by the 29th ranked Ega Agatha Riau of Indonesia.
The 24-year-old Korean is a two-time world champion and the reigning Asian Games gold medallist. Even at this Olympic Games, he was in impeccable form and set a world record in the ranking round on Friday when he became the first recurve archer to amass 700 out of a possible 720 points to secure the first place.
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A day later, he also played a significant role in fetching the team gold medal for his country.
Needless to say, he was the unanimous favourite for the gold and his ouster has been one of the biggest stories of the Rio Olympics.
Woojin had a bright start to his Round of 32 clash when he grabbed the first set 29-27. But as the match wore on, the Korean found it increasingly difficult to tackle the blustery conditions at the Sambodromo. A horrifying 7 in the second set and a hattrick of 8s in the third set cost him dearly as the Indonesian clinched the following three sets for the win.
A visibly distraught Woojin was naturally left to rue missing such a golden opportunity and admitted that he, himself, was in shock.
“I prepared so much for this and I feel that everything is gone now,” said Kim. “I’m in shock. I don’t blame anything or anyone, I just regret not doing well today.”
How Woojin’s upset can help Atanu Das?
With his exit, it remains to be seen if India’s Atanu Das can make use of it. Das and Woojin had a hard-fought battle at the Antalya World Cup in June where the Korean narrowly edged him in the individual bronze medal play-off.
The World No. 1 was a potential semi-final opponent for the fifth-seeded Das at Rio and his elimination certainly brightens up the prospects of other medal contenders.
The Kolkata archer had shown tremendous grit and resilience in the ranking round where he stormed back from a lowly 24th position to end up fifth with some incredible shooting under pressure in his Olympic debut.
On Tuesday, he starts his campaign against Jitbahadur Muktan of Nepal. The earliest top 5 seed that he can face is the fourth-seeded Sjef Van Den Berg of the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Woojin’s upset has rendered the top quarter of the draw bereft of any top 5 seed which should work in Atanu’s favour since he is placed in the second quarter of the draw.
It means that if he can overcome the Dutchman, he won’t have to face any seed higher than him before the final. Can Atanu summon all his courage to bring out his very best on the world’s biggest stage?
