Top archer Deepika Kumari won her first two recurve individual elimination round contests to advance to the Round of 32, while the compound mixed team will aim for the bronze after losing in the semi-finals of the World Championships at Belek in Turkey on Wednesday.
Deepika, who qualified 10th, won an easy first round contest over Anete Kreicberga of Latvia 6-0 (29-24, 26-20, 29-28) before getting the better of Poland’s Wioleta Myszor 6-2 (24-22, 25-28, 29-24, 27-24) in the second round.
Deepika faces London Olympics bronze medallist Mariana Avitia in the Round of 32 on Thursday.
Veteran Dola Banerjee also move into the Round of 32 with victory over Elena Mousikou of Cyprus (6-2: 27-28, 27-24, 29-24, 28-26) and Ana Maria Rendon of Colombia (6-0: 27-25, 28-24, 26-25). However, Chekrovolu Swuro crashed out after losing to Bishindee Urantungalag of Mongolia 4-6 (26-29, 27-26, 27-28, 27-23, 22-29)
The compound mixed team of Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam produced an impressive performance to beat higher-ranked teams Denmark and Korea before losing to Russia in the semi-finals. They will now take on the United States for the bronze medal on Saturday.
The Indian duo, who qualified 11th, first beat Denmark (qualified sixth) 150-147 and then accounted for top team Korea — third in the qualification — by a good margin of 153-144. But the Indians lost narrowly (147-150) to Russia in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.