Rio Olympics 2016 Archery Highlights: Women Archers Struggle in Ranking Round, Atanu Das Shines

Deepika Kumari and Bombayla Devi finished 20th and 24th, respectively, while Laxmirani was placed at 43rd in the archery women's individual ranking round at the Rio Olympics. Earlier, Atanu Das secured a 5th-place finish in the men's individual ranking round at Sambodromo on Friday. Catch archery highlights from Rio Olympics here.

23:38 IST: That's it from us for tonight. Do join us for the live coverage of the Rio Olympics opening ceremony in a few hours' time.

23:30 IST: Deepika Kumari scores 53 in the final round to finish 20th with 640 points. Bombayla Devi finishes 24th with 638. Laxmirani Majhi is placed 43rd with 614 points. India finish the team event in 7th position with a total of 1892 points.

23:20 IST: Deepika Kumari is up to 18th after a score of 56 in Round 11. Her total now is 587. Bombayla is at 23rd with a score of 584. Laxmirani has slipped to 45th with a total score of 563. India are 7th in the team rankings.

23:16 IST: Choi Misun continues to lead the table. She has 561 points, and a 4 point lead over second-placed Chang Hyejin.

23:13 IST: A terrible 48 sees Deepika Kumari drop to 23rd. Her total score is 531. Bombayla is down to 22nd with 531. Laxmirani improves with 41st with a total of 515. India are 8th in the team rankings.

23:05 IST: Choi Misun leads the standings with a score of 502.

23:03 IST: Deepika Kumari climbs up two places with a score of 54 to take her tally to 483. Bombayla is down to 17th with a score of 482. Laxmirani Majhi is up to 45th with a total of 462. India are 7th in the team rankings.

23:00 IST: Meanwhile, the Olympic flame seems to be having a really good time.

The #OlympicFlame is always looking for an adventure! It rode on top of the cable car at the Sugarloaf Mountain ?? pic.twitter.com/z1PjdAI7rm

- Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 5, 2016

22:57 IST: Choi Misun of South Korea continues to lead the standings. Her total score is 447. India, meanwhile, are seventh in the team rankings.

22:55 IST: Bombayla's total score is 431, while Deepika's is 429. Laxmirani is at 50th in the standings with 408 on the board.

22:53 IST: Bombayla down to 13th after scoring 53 in Round 8. Deepika is up to 17th, having scored 54 in the same round.

22:48 IST: Choi Misun continues to lead the standings. She has a score of 391.

22:45 IST: It's a disastrous round for Deepika Kumari as she misses her last shot, taking her score from the round to 46, and overall total to 375. Bombayla down to 11th place with a score of 378. Laxmirani 54th with a total of 355. India down to 8th in the team event.

22:32 IST: Barring a few minor hiccups, it's been smooth sailing for Deepika Kumari and Bombayla Devi so far. However, Laxmirani will seek to improve her position in the next half.

22:28 IST: Chang Hyejin of South Korea leads the standings with a score of 336.

22:25 IST: A terrible round from Deepika Kumari sees her drop to 5th. She scores a poor 49, taking her score to 329. Bombayla is 8th with a score of 327, Laxmirani further down at 49th with 306 on the board. India down to 5th with a combined total of 962.

22:18 IST: Deepika has seven bull's eyes (X's) and 14 X's and 10's after the first five rounds. 

22:15 IST: Deepika Kumari is top of the standings after scoring a fantastic 58 in Round 5, taking her total to 280. Bombayla up to 9th with a score of 273, but Laxmirani is struggling at 43rd with a total of 260. India are third in the team rankings with a total of 813.

22:10 IST: South Korean Choi Misun currently leads the standings with a total score of 225.

22:06 IST: A solid 58 from Deepika Kumari lifts her to 3rd in the standings. Bombayla up to 15th with a total of 217. Laxmirani Majhi is 37th, having scored 210. India up to 3rd in the team ranking.

22:00 IST: Deepika Kumari maintains her 8th position with a score of 54 in Round 3, taking her total to 164. Bombayla Devi is 23rd with a score of 160. Laxmirani Majhi is 40th with a total of 156. India drop to 5th in the team rankings.

21:57 IST: Sartori Guendalina of Italy currently leads the standings with a score of 112.

21:55 IST: Deepika Kumari moves up to 8th with a score of 54, that takes her total to 110. Laxmirani Majhi is 21st with 107, and Bombayla Devi is 24th with 106. India are down to 3rd in the team event, with a combined score of 323.

21:50 IST: A decent start for Deepika to build upon. Both Majhi and Bombayla will be hoping to improve scores in the next round.

21:38 IST: Deepika Kumari scores a 56 in the first round, with Laxmirani Majhi scoring 54 and Bombayla Devi managing a 52. They are placed 9th, 19th and 35th, respectively. India are placed 2nd in the team event, with a combined score of 162.

Deepika Kumari is leading India's charge in women's archery along with Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi.

© AFP

 

21:30 IST: Bombayla with target 6A, Laxmirani with target 7A and Deepika with target 8A, are set to start their campaigns at the Sambodromo shortly.

21:00 IST: Only a matter of minutes before the Indian women archers begin their Rio Olympics campaign. Can Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Bombayla Devi give India a good start today?

19:54 IST: Meanwhile, Atanu Das, after an impressive ranking round, will again be in action on Monday, August 8 at 17:30 IST, in the men's individual Round of 64.

19:52 IST: For Laxmirani Majhi, this will be the first appearance at the Olympics. Deepika Kumari will be making her second appearance at the Games, while for Bombayla Devi, a relative veteran in the sport, this will be a third showing at the quadrennial event.

19:48 IST: The Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Bombayla Devi will be in action in less than a couple of hours tonight. Can they outdo Atanu Das' showing?

19:40 IST: An impressive comeback from Atanu Das after slipping to 24th in the 2nd round. The women's individual and team ranking rounds will start at 21:30 IST. Do stay with us for live updates from the event.

19:32 IST: Kim Woojin sets World and Olympic Record with a total score of 700, having scored 59 in the final round. What a performance from the South Korean archer!

19:28 IST: Atanu Das finishes an impressive 5th in the ranking round, after scoring 58 from his final set of arrows.

19:22 IST: Kim Woojin scores 59 to take his total score to 641. He is 11 points ahead of second-placed Ellison Brady.

19:20 IST: A brilliant 59 from Atanu Das takes him up to the 7th spot. His total score is 625.

19:18 IST: Pillay's sentiment is echoed by former tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi, who adds that the Indian duo of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna will be a dangerous pairing at the Olympics.

19:17 IST: Meanwhile, in an exclusive chat with NDTV, former Indian hockey skipper Dhanraj Pillay has backed the current team to do well at the Olympics. He also predicts more medals from the Indian contingent at Rio than the total haul in 2012.

19:14 IST: Leader Woojin scores a 58 to take his total to 582. Second-placed Rodriguez has a perfect 60, and is now at 573.

19:12 IST: A very good 58 takes Atanu Das' total score to 566. However, he slips a place to 11th.

19:10 IST: Meanwhile, the Olympic flame continues its journey.

It's a sibling thing: @CodySimpson passes the #OlympicFlame to @allisimpson ??

Follow us on Snapchat: Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/yUG9HcPd5Q

- Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 5, 2016

19:05 IST: While Kim Woojin looks set to take the first rank, Atanu Das is just 5 points behind second-placed Rodriguez. A good round now will make things interesting at the top.

19:04 IST: Kim Woojin scores a 57 to continue his lead. Spain's Juan Rodriguez climbs up to 2nd place after scoring 59 in that round. He trails Woojin by 11 points.

19:02 IST: A solid round from Atanu Das, as he manages a score of 59. He climbs up to the 10th place with a total score of 508.

18:57 IST: A total of 10 X's from Atanu Das so far, and 21 X's and 10s. Will he manager better scores in the remaining four rounds?

18:55 IST: Kim Woojin continues to dominate this ranking round. He scores a perfect 60 to open up a 10-point lead over second-placed Van Den Berg Sjef.

18:53 IST: Atanu Das scores 57 in Round 8. He is up a spot to 13th, with a total score of 449.

18:48 IST: It's an extremely close affair in the middle of the table, with Atanu Das just seven points ahead of 33rd-placed archer Daniel Lucas. Only 32 archers will progress to the Round of 32. Das will need to keep scoring well in the remaining rounds to ensure qualification to the next round.

18:47 IST: Kim Woojin widens the gap at the top with an impressive 59. His total score is 407, five more than second-placed Sjef.

18:43: It's not a very good round from Atanu Das, as he manages a 55. However, it is enough to take him up to the 14th spot. His total score is 392.

18:40 IST: Kim Woojin and Van Den Berh Sjef are separated by just a point at the top of the standings. Woojin has a score of 348, and Sjef is hot on his heels at 347. Third-placed Ellison Brady of USA is five points behind Sjef at 342.

18:30 IST: Atanu Das now 11 short of leader Woojin. He has a total of 7 bull's eyes (X's) and 16 X's and 10s from the first half.

18:27 IST: Kim Woojin continues to lead the table despite scoring 56 in the last round. His total score is 348.

18:24 IST: Atanu Das climbs up two spots with a score of 57 in the 6th round. His total score is now 337.

18:22 IST: Atanu Das needs a good round here to close the gap on the leaders. Important to note that there are quite a few archers just a point or two behind him at the moment.

18:20 IST: Meanwhile, the Olympic flame is not far away from the Maracana now.

6-time Olympian @wick_22 is all smiles with the #OlympicFlame in hand ?? #CAN pic.twitter.com/GUJtMlXnoq

- Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 5, 2016

18:17 IST: Kim Woojin of South Korea is the new leader. A perfect fifth round of 60 takes his score to 292.

18:15 IST: Atanu Das manages a 55 in the fifth round. He is down to 17th with a total of 280.

18:11 IST: Atanu Das has a combined total of ten X's and 10s. Will he continue his surge in the next round?

18:08 IST: Van Den Berg Sjef of Netherlands is the new leader after two perfect rounds. He has a score of 233.

18:05 IST: And it's a solid 57 from Atanu in the 4th round, to take his total of 225. He is up to 13th in the leaderboard.

18:04 IST: Atanu Das is five short of leader current Gantugs. A good fourth round will pull him back up the table.

17:59 IST: Meanwhile, Jantsan Gantugs continues to lead the standings with a score of 173.

17:56 IST: Atanu Das comes back with a very solid 57 to climb up to 19th. He has a total of 168, and seven X's and 10s so far.

17:54 IST: Atanu Das has a combined four bull's eyes (X's) and 10s from his first two sets. He will need to improve in his next attempt to get up the leaderboard.

17:50 IST: Mongolia's Jantsan Gantugs is currently leading the crop with a score of 115 from his first two sets.

17:48 IST: Atanu completes his second set of arrows, but this time he only manages a score of 53. He drops down to 24th on the leaderboard.

17:45 IST: The men's individual ranking round has started, and Atanu Das is third in the leaderboard with a score of 58.

17:40 IST: The Pope has conveyed his best wishes to the athletes ahead of the Games.

Good luck to the athletes at #Rio2016! May you always be messengers of goodwill and true sporting spirit.

- Pope Francis (@Pontifex) August 5, 2016

17:33 IST: Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar seems to have enjoyed being at the IOC President's dinner in Rio.

It was very insightful meeting members of the @Olympics committee at the President's dinner in #Rio2016 #IOC pic.twitter.com/Kavl22qguz

- sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 5, 2016

17:30 IST: The men's individual ranking round is only moments away from commencement. India's Atanu Das, with target 22A, will be in action in this round.

Atanu Das, with target 22A, will be in action in the men's individual ranking round.

© PTI

17:15 IST: Quite a few big names will be missed by India at the Olympics this month. Here is a look at five of them who missed out on the bus to Rio.

17:00 IST: It's the first day of the Rio Olympics, and the Maracana Stadium is set to host the Opening Ceremony later tonight. Can India surpass its medal tally from 2012?

16:50 IST: Hello and welcome to the live blog of the archery ranking rounds of the Rio Olympic Games.

Deepika Kumari won her fourth silver medal at the World Cup earlier this year.

© AFP

Atanu Das will be the first Indian athlete in action at Rio Olympics 2016. When several of his Indian teammates prepare for the Rio Olympics 2016 opening ceremony at Maracana, Das, the lone Indian archer in the Games, will be lining up target No. 22A as the men's individual ranking rounds get under way.

There will be 64 archers in fray. The Koreans will be top favourites in this event. Twenty-four-year-old Das has come to Rio riding a series of strong shows in the trials. He has got the better of former Olympians Tarundeep Rai, Rahul Banerjee, Jayanta Talukdar and Mangal Singh Champia to qualify for his maiden Olympics.

It will really be a milestone for Das if he can better Satyadev Prasad's pre-quarterfinal finish of Athens 2004.

Deepika, Laxmirani, Bombayla on show

Later in the evening, India's women troika of Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Laishram Bombayla Devi will be in action in the women's individual ranking rounds. They will line-up side by side among 64 archers. The Koreans are the favourites in this event while Ukraine have the Olympic record.

Deepika and Bombayla, in her third straight Olympics, disappointed in London four years ago will be carrying India's hopes in the team ranking rounds too. Debutant Laxmirani is quite capable of a good show but it will finally boil down to how much the women handle pressure and the conditions.