Indian mixed archery team loses 2-6 to USA in bronze match at Paris Olympics

The historic Indian mixed team of Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara came agonizingly close to ending India’s 36-year wait for an Olympic medal in archery, but failed to finish fourth at the Paris Games on Friday. The team had already made history by entering the semifinals of the Olympic Games for the first time. But the pair lost 37-38, 35-37, 38-34, 35-37 to the American combination of world No. 1 Casey Kaufhold and three-time Olympic medalist Brady Ellison to join the club of fourth-place finishers at the Olympics. Still, it was the best performance by an Indian team in the quadrennial final.

Ankita felt the pressure the most as she shot two 7s and managed just a few 10s throughout the four sets.

Trailing 0-4, the Indians did well to come back, with Ankita scoring an excellent 10.

All four Indian arrows were in the yellow zone, while Casey looked a little nervous as she fired a 7 with her first arrow before a 9 and 10. But the Indians did enough to win the third set.

While 22-year-old Dhiraj was more consistent shooting up to four 10s, Ankita, who was exceptional against the Koreans in the semi-finals, performed below average, including a few 8s, which ended up costing India the match.

At the start of the semi-final, Dhiraj and Ankita had lost 2-6 (lost 38-36 35-38 37-38 38-39) to defending champions South Korea.

They did well to attack the powerful Koreans.

It was a poor start for Lim Sihyeon who fell to the red ring for 8 points and Kim Woo-jin also missed a 10 as India responded strongly with two 10s from Dhiraj while Ankita remained consistent with two 9s to take advantage from the initial set. against the number 1 combination in the world.

But the Koreans made a strong comeback with Kim drilling two 10s to start the second set while Ankita dropped two points early. The Koreans won the second set with a three-point margin and tied.

The Koreans continued in the same vein in the next two sets.

Despite winning the medal, the Indians produced one of their most memorable performances when they reached the semi-finals, the country’s first at the Summer Games, defeating Spain 5-3 (38-37 38-38 36- 37 37- 36) in the quarterfinals.

Ankita and young Dhiraj won the first set 38-37 to take a 2-0 lead, with the duo hitting two 10s and two 9s.

The struggling Spanish team of Elia Canales and Pablo Acha Gonzalez matched India in the second set by drawing at 38, all to share the points.

India’s lead was neutralized in the third set after a 36-under par.

However, in the fourth and final set, Ankita and Dhiraj held their nerves to win the thrilling contest 37-36, scoring two full points and securing a place in the semi-final, their best showing in the quadrennial final.

In the first round, the Indians defeated Indonesia 5-1 (37-36, 38-38, 38-37).

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