Wasim Jaffer, VVS Laxman, Shikha Pandey laud Atanu Das for beating Oh Jin Hyek in Tokyo Olympics

Atanu Das, India’s top-ranked male shooter, made a stupendous start to his campaign in the Tokyo Olympics. On Thursday, July 29, he defeated South Korean champion Oh Jin Hyek in the Men’s Individual Recurve Round of 32. The Korean would have been brimming with confidence after winning a gold medal in the team event, but Atanu turned out to be a tough nut to crack.

Atanu didn’t make the greatest of starts as he trailed by 2-4, but he came back to draw level at 5-5 to force a shoot-off. In the shoot-off, Hyek shot first and churned out a score of nine. It meant that Atanu had to pull off something special to emerge victoriously. The situation didn’t ruffle him by any means and he went on to score a perfect 10 to come out trumps.

His wife Deepika Kumari, also the World No.1 Women’s Recurve archer, was present at the stands. After the win, Das screamed in joy and ecstasy and signalled towards his spouse, who was cheering for him.

I’ve faced shoot-offs before: Atanu Das

Following the thumping win, Das recalled the pressure he was under to perform well in the shoot-off. He talked about how he calmed himself in the must-win scenario.

“It was a tense moment. I’ve faced shoot-offs before. I knew he was shooting first, and if he would shoot a nine, I could win it. I just tried to maintain my focus. It was a tense moment, a win or lose situation. So, I just went for the win,” Atanu was quoted as saying after the match.

Das is faced with another tough task, as he will next face Japan’s Furukawa Takaharu, the silver medallist from the London Games. “We’re giving out best, so let’s see what happens,” he added.

In the meantime, the cricketing fraternity had words of praises for Das as well. VVS Laxman and Wasim Jaffer, the former Indian cricketers, praised the archer for his performance.

Shikha Pandey, who’s a part of the Indian women’s cricket team, didn’t forget to congratulate Das on the laurel on Thursday in Tokyo.

Here’s how the cricketing fraternity lauded Atanu Das

Atanu Das' win against 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist Oh Jin-Hyek today was absolutely brilliant. Phenomenal skills. Wishing him the best for the matches ahead.

#AtanuDas #Archery #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/rafPlTzqSI

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) July 29, 2021

What a morning for #TeamIndia @ArcherAtanu beating 2-time Olympic gold medalist!@TheHockeyIndia beating defending champs Argentina!@Pvsindhu1 breezing through to the quarters! 🙌🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #Cheer4India #GoForGold #Olympics #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/hfaCujHv4V

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 29, 2021

Atanu Das🤯💪🏾👏🏽#Archery #Olympics #teamindia

— Shikha Pandey (@shikhashauny) July 29, 2021