Beijing Olympics 2008

India@Beijing Olympics 2008: Shooting, Archery & Rowing

After the early morning disappointments, India had something to look forward to on Sunday when three events brought hope for the nation, namely shooting, archery and rowing.

Even as Anjali Bhagwat, debutant Avneet Kaur Sidhu and veteran Samresh Jung failed to fire their way into the finals of the their respective individual events, Manavjit Singh Sandhu hung around for a place in the final of the trap shooting event even though compatriot Mansher Singh has an uphill task to qualify for the last lap for the medal.

The only silver lining on a gloomy day for Indian shooters came from Manavjit who shot 23, 23 and 24 to total 70 out of 75 target to secure 12th position and reamain in contention for a place in the final six. Mansher, on the other hand, began well but fumbled towards the end and his 75-shot total of 70 had him at 21st, making it more difficult for him to qualify for the finals. The marksmen would return to the Beijing Shooting Range on Sunday for two more rounds that would make or mar their fate.

In archery, the trio of L Bombayla Devi, Dola Banerjee and Pranitha Vardhineni did enough to ensure that the women’s team, courtesy its sixth place finish in the ranking rounds, got a bye in the first round. The eves would now take on hosts China (1916), who finished third, straight in the quarter-finals and it will be very tough for them there.

Bombayla (637), Dola (633) and Pranitha (627) came 22nd, 31st and 37th respectively in today’s ranking round and their aggregated tally of 1897 helped India finish among top six sides which got a bye. In the individual section on Tuesday, in-form Bombayla will face lowly Iwona Marcinkiewicz of Poland, who finished 43rd with a score of 620, while experienced Dola takes on Marie-Pier Beaudet (628) of Canada, who finished 34th. Young Pranitha will have a tough task to get past Australian Jane Waller, who shot 634 on Saturday to finish 28th. A medal though is expecting far too much from these players as the competition is far stronger.

The Indian camp got some good news from rowing competition too, when Bajranglal Takhar made it to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles Sculls event.  Competing in Heat four, Takhar finished overall third, ahead of Monaco’s Mathias Raymond. The first four out of a total of five competitors qualified for the quarter-finals.

Tags: Abhinav Bindra, Anjali Bhagwat, archery, Australia, avneet kaur sidhu, Bajranglal Takhar, beijing olympics 2008, canada, Dola Banerjee, India, Iwona Marcinkiewicz, jane waller, L Bombayla Devi, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Mansher, Marie-Pier Beaudet, Mathias Raymond, Men's Rowing, men's singles Sculls event, Men's Trap Shooting, Monaco, poland, Pranitha Vardhineni, rowing, samresh jung, shooting, Takhar, Women's Archery