Atanu Das was up against World no.8 Lee Seungyun of South Korea in the pre-quarter-finals of the men’s individual event at the Rio Olympics 2016. The Indian archer gave a brilliant performance, hitting six 10s and eight 9s, however, it was not enough as the Korean managed to win the match 6-4.
The first set was won by the Korean and Atanu came back to win the second. The third set ended in a tie, Korean won the fourth by a single point and the last set ended in a tie as well, which meant the World No. 8 Lee Seungyun won the match.
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The rain, like yesterday, was pouring down at the Sambodromo and shooting was not at easy at all. Lee started the proceedings with a perfect 10 and Atanu replied with a 9 for herself. The South Korean came back with another 10 but Atanu refused to back down and shot a 10 herself. However, the world no.8 shot another 10 to seal the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The second set was started by Atanu, who hit the bullseye and under pressure, the Korean archer replied with a 10 for himself. Atanu shot another excellent shot, scoring a 10 and Lee equalised with another 10. The Indian archer shot the fifth straight 10 of the match and Lee was only able to shoot an 8 in his last shot which meant Atanu tied the match at 2-2.
The match was being played at the highest of levels and Lee maintained it with yet another 10, however, Atanu managed a 9. It was the Korean’s turn to shoot a 9 now and Atanu did exactly what Lee managed in his first shot, a 10. Though Lee shot an 8 on his next shot, giving Atanu the advantage, the Indian only managed an 8 and missed the opportunity to win the set. This set ended in a tie and both the archers were awarded 1 point each.
Lee started the third set with a 9 and Atanu replied with a 9 for himself. Not one to back down, the Korean shot another 9 and Atanu shot another 9 to equal the scores. Lee bettered his record in the set with a 10, leaving Atanu needing a 10 to tie the set, however, he was only able to manage a 9 and the fourth set went to the Korean.
The Indian archer needed to win this set in order to take the match to a shootout and he started with a 9. The Korean then came back with a 9 for himself to equal the scores. The Indian then struck a 10 and then Lee equalled the score with a 10. Atanu was only able to manage a 9 and the Korean scored a 9 to tie this set as well and take the match 6-4.
With this loss, Indian challenge in the sport of Archery is over. Lee will now face Sjef Van Den Berg of Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the event.
