10 young Indians who failed to win a medal, but showed promise at Rio 2016

Atanu Das

Much had been expected of India’s archers at Rio 2016, and although Bombayla Devi Laishram did deliver a couple of standout performances during the team events at the Olympics, the archers were unable to fire as expected.

24-year-old Atanu Das, about whom not much had been touted ahead of the Olympics in Rio, was the star of India’s archery sojourn. Finishing at a respectable 5th in the ranking rounds, the Indian archer delivered a number of good performances in Rio, and even in the pre-quarterfinals, put in a rousing rout against his opponent, Korean World No. 8 Lee Seungyun, hitting six 10s and eight 9s. It was a good showing from the 24-year-old, participating in his first Olympics, and it was only due to a spotless performance by his opponent that Das missed out on progressing further.

With his performance, Das proved his mettle as a hope for Indian archery.