India's Atanu Das was knocked out of the Tokyo Olympics after losing 6-4 to Japan's Takaharu Furukuwa in the pre-quarterfinals of the archery men's individual event on Friday.
Atanu's loss brings India's archery campaign at the Games to an end. Atanu was the last Indian archer still in contention after Deepika Kumari, Atanu's wife, lost to Korea's An San 6-0 in the quarterfinals on Friday. An, who won gold in the women's team and mixed team events, went on to claim gold in the individual event as well.
Atanu, seeded 35th on the basis of the individual ranking round at the start of the Games, began poorly against 46th-seeded Furukawa. In the first set, the Indian shot a 9 on his first arrow, while the Japanese managed the same. On the second arrow, Atanu shot 8, while Furukawa edged ahead with a 9. Atanu needed a good shot on his third arrow but shot 8 again, while Furukawa shot 9 again to win the first set 27-25.
Atanu started the second set with a perfect 10, while Furukawa shot 9. Both archers shot 9 on their next arrows, giving Atanu a slight lead. The Indian needed a 10 on the third arrow to ensure Furukawa would have no chance of winning the set, but he managed a 9, which the Japanese matched to tie the set 28-28 and split the points. Furukawa led the match 3-1 at that point.
In the third set, Atanu managed two 10s on his first two arrows, while Furukawa shot 8 and 10. Atanu gave Furukawa an opening with an 8 on his third arrow, but luckily for the Indian, Furukawa shot 9 on his last arrow for Atanu to win the set 28-27 and level the match 3-3.
In the fifth set, Atanu shot 9 and 8 on his first two arrows, while Furukawa shot 9 and 10 to go up two points. Atanu needed a 10 on his last shot to have a chance, but he shot 9 again. Furukawa shot 8 to win the set 27-26 and the match 6-4.
This was a missed opportunity for Atanu, not just by seeding, but because he'd done the hard work of beating third seed and 2012 Olympic gold medallist Oh Jin-Hyek of South Korea in the previous round.