Rio de Janeiro - An upset stomach and a burst blood vessel in an eye were not enough to throw Dutch archer Sjef Van den Berg off target as he charged into the last 16 of the men's individual event at the Rio Olympics on Monday.
The world number five fell violently ill the day before the 72-arrow ranking round on Friday but recovered well enough to dispatch Tongan teenager Hans Arne Jensen and Turk Mete Gazoz in his opening round matches.
His next opponent in the last 16 will be decided on Tuesday.
“The day before the qualification, I got really sick and had to throw up,” 21-year-old Van den Berg told reporters.
“While doing that, a blood vessel popped. It looks more serious than it is.
“It doesnt affect my vision at all. I shot like this over the last week and I had my glasses on so nobody saw it. I didnt need my glasses today, therefore everyone saw the evil eye.”
The men's and women's individual events continue on Tuesday.
Archery superpower South Korea won gold in both the team events.
Reuters