Pooja had a strong start, winning the first set decisively by a five-point margin with only two points dropped
Pooja Jatyan (Pic: X)
Indian archer Pooja Jatyan experienced a dramatic reversal in fortune, losing her place in the semifinals of the women’s recurve open at the Paris Paralympics 2024. Despite leading 4-0, she succumbed to Wu Chunyan of China, falling 4-6 in the quarterfinals.
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Wu Chunyan, a seasoned archer with four Paralympic medals, including a team gold from the 2016 Rio Games, began poorly, scoring just 23 points in the opening set after hitting the 7-point red ring twice.
In contrast, Pooja, a former World Para Championship silver medallist, had a strong start, winning the first set decisively by a five-point margin with only two points dropped.
The 27-year-old archer from Gurugram extended her lead to 4-0 after clinching a tightly contested second set 25-24, thanks to a perfect 10 on her final arrow. However, Pooja faltered when she needed just one more set to secure her maiden Paralympic semifinal berth. She scored a 7 with her final arrow in the third set, allowing Wu to close the gap to 2-4 by winning the set 28-27.
Under increasing pressure, Pooja struggled in the fourth set, scoring just 24 points, and Wu leveled the match at 4-4. In a dramatic finish, Wu claimed the deciding set 27-24 with a perfect 10 on her final arrow, thus ending Pooja’s Paralympic dreams.
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Earlier in the competition, Pooja had shown impressive form by defeating Turkey’s Yagmur Sengul in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals. She dominated the first set with three consecutive 9s and maintained her lead with a total of 26 points against Sengul’s 22. Though Sengul offered some resistance in the third set, Pooja held her composure, securing the win by a narrow margin.
Pooja Jatyan's journey is particularly inspiring given her early life challenges. Contracting polio from medical negligence at just two months old did not deter her. Embracing archery in her childhood, Pooja has achieved notable success, including a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Para Championship and gold medals in both Women’s Team and Mixed Team events at the Para Archery European Cup 2nd Leg in 2024.
In the recurve open category, competitors shoot from a standing position at a distance of 70 meters at a 122cm target, with scores ranging from 10 points at the center to 1 point on the outermost ring.
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