Satyadev Prasad

India’s Satyadev Prasad on Aug. 19 almost upset the men’s top seed Im dong Hyun of South Korea before going down 165-167 on the last arrow in the pre-quarterfinal of the Olympics.

With Satyadev’s defeat at Panathinaiko Stadium, India’s challenge in archery ended.

Prasad, 25, led 139-138 after the fifth and penultimate series. But Im rallied to win the last series. On the 18th and last shot, Im shot a nine, while Prasad garnered only seven, to lose.

Earlier, Reena Kumari, India’s last surviving archer in the women’s Olympic competition, crashed out in the pre-quarter finals on Aug. 18. Reena lost 148-166 to Yuan Shu Chi of Taipei. India had fielded two other archers. While Dola Banerjee, the country’s best bet, had lost in first round, Sumangla Sharma went down in the second.

––– By V. Krishnaswamy