Atanu Das shoots 23 perfect 10s, stands fifth

Atanu Das showed fine composure and skill to bounce back from a poor start in his maiden Olympics to finish fifth in the qualification round as the archery competition got under way at Brazil’s historic Samba Street here on Friday.

Lying a lowly 10th after first 36 arrows, the 24-year-old Kolkata lad turned it around in style in the final set of 36 by shooting 23 perfect 10s including 10 closest to the centre to finish fifth with 683 out of the possible 720.

Das is the lone male member in the Indian archery team and compete only in the individual section as the men’s team had failed to qualify from the World Championship.

Leading the qualification round was two-time world champion Kim Woo-jin, who shot 700, for a world record on the opening day of the Olympiad.

Das had troubled Woo-jin in the World Cup Stage 3 in Antalya earlier in June where he led the Korean heavyweight 4-0 before losing 5-6 for the individual bronze medal.

But his impressive finish meant that Das, who will begin his elimination round against 60th ranked Jitbahadur Muktan of Nepal, will avoid the top seed until the summit clash.