Rakesh Kumar continued his impressive run of form to storm into pre-quarterfinals while his teammate Shyam Sundar Swami made a second round exit as Indian compound archers had a mixed day at the Paralympic Games on August 28.
A day after he shot the highest score — 699 out of a maximum 720 — by an Indian para archer in the qualification round, the wheelchair bound 36-year-old Kumar easily overcame Ka Chuen Ngai of Hong Kong by a massive 13-point margin at the Yumenoshima Park. Rakesh Kumar, who won an individual gold medal at the 7th Fazza Para Archery World Ranking Tournament in Dubai earlier this year, had near perfect four ends, dropping just one point each enroute to totalling 144 out of a possible 150.
Overall, he shot nine perfect 10s including four closest to the centre (X), as his Hong Kong rival paled in comparison shooting four 10s (three Xs) for a total of 131.
In the last-16 round on August 31, the third seeded Kumar will face 14th seed Marian Marecak, a two-time 49-year-old Olympian from Slovakia.
Earlier, 21st seed Shyam Sundar, who also got a bye into the second round, had a narrow 139-142 defeat against 2012 Paralympics silver medallist Matt Stutzman, the armless archer from the U.S. who shoots with his feet. From being 55-all at the halfway mark, Stutzman took a three point lead with a perfect 30/30 fourth end and sealed the the fixture by three points, despite some late challenge by the Indian.
