One of the most important skill for an athlete is the ability to remain calm and perform well under pressure, even in the most chaotic of circumstances. The ability to hold the nerves plays a big role in success. On Tuesday, Indian Archer Dheeraj Bommaradeva unfortunately got the nerves better of him. Competing in the Men’s Individual recurve quarterfinal under pressure, he completely missed hitting a shot not once but twice. This proved to be the difference in the end as he bowed out from the quarterfinal at the Asian Games.
Also Read: Asian Games: Abhisek Verma, Ojas Deitale assure 1-2 medal finish in Archery
The ‘costly miss’ – What exactly happened?
Dhiraj Bommadevara was playing against Kazakhstan’s Ilfat Abdullin. The Indian was leading 4-2 and was one set away from sealing a spot in the semifinal.
In the fourth set, his opponent started off with an 8. Dhiraj soon went ahead by shooting 9 in his first shot if the set. Abdullin hit an 8 yet again and Dhiraj had a great opportunity to further establish his lead.
The Indian however faltered when it mattered the most. He infact completely missed the ring as the arrow ended up in the frame. He even gave a tough time for the officials, who were struggling to pull out the arrow between the sets.
Dhiraj Bommadevara crashed out of the Asian Games
This costly miss allowed the Kzakh to take the lead. Abdullin soon ended up winning the set 25-16. In the deciding fifth set, both the players got a combined score of 28 and split the points, forcing the match into a shootout. Dhiraj could only manage a nine. His opponent finished with a perfect 10, and snatched away the victory from the Indian.
Earlier in the game too Dhiraj hit a shot completely out of the ring. It was in the second set as he ended up losing it 19-29 and allowed his opponent to level the scores 2-2.
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