Paris [France], August 2 (ANI): India’s hunt for the first medal in archery at the Olympics continued after Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara suffered a heartbreaking loss in the bronze medal match in the archery recurve mixed team event on Friday.
Despite making history by becoming the first pair to reach the semi-finals at the Olympics in a mixed archery event, Ankita and Dhiraj’s arrows missed the mark at the decisive moment, which brought an end to their campaign in the Paris Olympics.
The Indian duo came close to the bronze but fell too far. They didn’t get off to an ideal start after Ankita struck a seven in her opening shot. The American duo capitalised on the opportunity and wrapped up the first set by one point. The US archers led the bronze medal tie by 2-0 (38-37).
In the second set, Ankita once again struck a seven, but Dhiraj made ammends by sending his arrow to the 10-point region. The medal match became open after Casey hit the red zone to pick up eight. The Indian duo followed it up by hitting the nine-point mark each. However, a ten from Brandy sealed the second set in favour of the US (37-35).
In a must-win set, Ankita set the tone with a ten, and Dhiraj followed it up with a nine. Brandy replied strongly with a ten, but the pressure got the better of Casey after she sent her arrow in the red zone for a seven. India took advantage of the opening and closed the gap by 2-4 (38-34).
In the fourth set, which decided India’s fate, Ankita began the proceedings with an eight, and Dhiraj followed it up with a nine. The American archers made the most of the opportunity and walked away with the bronze medal with a 6-2 win.
Before playing for India’s fourth medal, Dhiraj and Ankita fell short in the semi-finals against South Korea’s Kim Woojin and Lim Sihyeon.
After creating history and becoming the first mixed team from India to reach the semi-finals in the event, Ankita and Dhiraj continued to ride high on the momentum they built in the final eight. They wrapped up the first set within a blink of an eye. Passionate India fans waved the flag and cheered for the archers as they stood on the brink of making history.
In the opening set against South Korea’s Sihyeon and Woojin, Dhiraj, with nerves of steel, hit back-to-back ten, which powered India to 38 points while South Korea accumulated 36 points.
South Korean archers held their composure and bounced back in the second set. Sihyeon and Woojin sent their arrow to the 10-point mark each time to put up 38 points. In reply, Ankita and Dhiraj failed to hit the ten-point region once throughout the second set.
Woojin, who tasted success in the men’s team archery event, continued to showcase his prowess and talent in the third set by hitting consecutive 10s in his two shots. Dhiraj, who dealt in 10s throughout the day, started to falter. He started brightly with a nine but faltered in his second shot, hitting the red zone to pick up eight. South Korea took away the third set and led for the first time in the semi-finals.
India needed to win the fourth set to keep their hopes of giving themselves a chance to fight for the nation’s first gold in the Paris Olympics.
Once again, Woojin turned out to be the difference in the semi-finals. He struck back-to-back 10s yet again and sent South Korea to the final. (ANI)
