Indian Archers Disappointed at World Archery Championships

Gwangju (South Korea), Sep 10 (PTI) -- The Indian recurve archers faced disappointment at the World Archery Championships as their medal hopes were dashed across several events. In a significant clash, the Indian women’s team, comprising of Deepika Kumari, Gatha Khadake, and Ankita Bhakat, narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, falling 3-5 to South Korea, a familiar and formidable opponent. The Korean team, although not in their best form, managed to capitalize on key moments, edging out the Indians despite their vulnerabilities in shooting.

After an initial setback, the Indian women matched the Koreans step for step in a tense tie during the second set, managing to sow doubt in an already illustrious Korean squad that boasts 10 consecutive Olympic gold medals. However, India's inconsistent performance crept back in the final set, allowing the Koreans to clinch a 56-54 victory.

The mixed team event brought further heartache. Deepika Kumari, paired with Neeraj Chauhan, was eliminated by Japan's Nanami Asakuno and Yuki Kawata in a close 4-5 shoot-off defeat. The Indian pair, despite showing moments of skill, particularly in the fourth set with a 38-37 score, faltered in the deciding moments without landing crucial 10-point shots. This inability to maintain composure under pressure cost them dearly in the decisive fifth set, ending their medal bid.

Both the men's individual aspirations and the compound squad had already concluded, leaving the recurve team dependent on the women's individual events for any sense of redress. Deepika, a seasoned archer returning after motherhood, remains in pursuit of elusive World Championships success, alongside the promising 15-year-old debutant, Gatha.

The prolonged medal drought for the recurve squad dates back to 2019 when Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav, and Tarundeep Rai secured a silver medal in Den Bosch. Since then, only the compound archery team has delivered on the world stage, with recent successes including a historic gold for the men's team and a mixed team silver, featuring Rishabh Yadav and Jyothi Surekha Vennam.

The fate of the men’s archers mirrored the other mixed results. Promising debutant Rahul advanced the furthest, reaching the last-32 round before succumbing 5-6 to Aleksandre Machavariani from Georgia in yet another shoot-off event. Despite a promising 5-3 lead, Rahul's performance unraveled under pressure, highlighting the psychological hurdles the Indian team faces in high-stakes Olympic recurve events.

Olympian Dhiraj Bommadevara and Neeraj Chauhan also exited early, underscored by Bommadevara’s challenging draw against Turkey's former Olympic champion, Mete Gazoz, while Neeraj was overshadowed by Uzbekistan's Bobrajabov Bekzod, resulting in a straight-set defeat. Both athletes demonstrated moments of skill but ultimately fell short against their experienced opponents.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)