After five days of fruitless labour, hopes of India turning a corner and marching towards a medal on day six of the Olympics were dashed when women archers Deepika Kumari and Laishram Bombayla Devi bowed out after being found wanting in pressure-cooker atmosphere.
There was disappointment in badminton as well when the seasoned Indian women’s doubles combine of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also came a cropper against a top class Japanese pair, but in a round-robin league, which kept them still in the hunt.
However, it was curtains for the archery duo of Deepika, the young exponent from Jharkhand who was in her second Games, and third-time Olympian Bombayla who bowed out without putting up much of a fight in their pre-quarterfinal elimination matches.
Deepika was up against World No.2 Tan Ya-Ting of Chinese Taipei, and was blanked 6-0 – losing in straight sets – while Bombayla lost 2-6 to World No.18 Alejandra Valencia of Mexico, after winning the second set.
