There’s good news from Turkey. Six out of eight Indians have managed to make it to the elimination round in the individual recurve event of the World Cup Archery Tournament (Stage III) currently underway at Antalya in Turkey.

The Archery Association of India’s (AAI) tough selection and strong message after their poor showing in the first World Cup in Korea - in dropping top ace Jayanata Talukdar and not sending a compound team to Turkey as their performance was below par — paid dividends as three men and three women have made it to the elimination round of 64 in the six-day event. A total of 332 archers from 51 countries are participating.

Rahul Banerjee was the surprise package, as he upstaged his senior teammate Tarundeep Rai, securing 17th spot in the qualifying rounds with a score of 1317 from his 144 arrows. Rai, who was lying in 27th place with three arrows left, climbed two places with a score of 1308 while Harish Kerai scored 1300 to bag the 37th spot.

Priyank, however, was unlucky, with big match nerves getting to him and he slipped from the 63rd spot with just three arrows remaining to 82nd in the final analysis with a score of 1260.

Dola Banerjee led the Indian charge in the women’s section, finishing as high as eighth with an individual score of 1330 despite the huge Korean dominance in the event. So much so, that there were four Koreans among the top five qualifiers here.

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