Recurve archers flop again: women miss bronze, mixed and individual hopes crash

Gwangju (South Korea), Sep 10 (PTI) Indian recurve archers once again flattered to deceive at the World Championships as the women's team lost to South Korea in the bronze medal playoff, while the mixed pair and men's individual hopes also crashed out on Wednesday.

Desperate to end a decade long medal drought at the Worlds, the women's trio of Deepika Kumari, Gatha Khadake and Ankita Bhakat failed to seize the big moments against its familiar nemesis, going down 3-5 against South Korea.

It's not that the 'invincible' Koreans on home turf dominated outright. In fact, they looked vulnerable with erratic shots and never once managed a perfect set.

But the Indians failed to land the knockout punch, squandering a golden chance to turn a 3-3 deadlock into a bronze.

The pattern was all too familiar with flashes of brilliance with four 10s in a set, only to be undone by loose shots and nerves when the medal was within reach.

After conceding the opening set 51-54, the Indians produced four 10s to tie the second 57-57, enough to create a panic among the Korean women's team which has won the Olympic gold 10 times in a row.

Riding on their late surge, the Indians edged the third 57-54 to draw level at 3-3, raising hopes of a breakthrough.

But the Koreans, led by triple Olympic gold medallist An San (Tokyo) and reigning Paris champion Lim Si-hyeon, regained control in the fourth, sealing a 56-54 win and extending their domination.

Mixed team woes =========== There was more heartbreak in the mixed event where Deepika and Neeraj Chauhan went down 4-5 (18-19) in a shoot-off to Japan's Nanami Asakuno and Yuki Kawata in the second round of 16.

After losing the first set 36-37, they rallied with two tied sets (36-36, 37-37) and even edged ahead 38-37 in the fourth with three 10s, only to collapse in the decider by failing to produce a single 10 when it mattered the most.

With the men already out of the individual rounds and the compound squad having wrapped up their campaign earlier, Indian recurve contingent will now be hoping to salvaging some pride in the women’s individual section.

The 31-year-old Deepika, making her World Championships return post-motherhood, is still searching for that elusive medal at the Worlds.

All eyes would also be on rising 15-year-old debutant Gatha.

The medal drought in the recurve section has stretched since 2019, when Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav and Tarundeep Rai snatched a silver in Den Bosch.

Since then, it has been left to the compound archers to salvage India's pride at the World Championships.

India have so far bagged two medals, all coming in the compound section -- a first-ever men's team gold and mixed team silver by Rishabh Yadav and Jyothi Surekha Vennam.

Men archers crash out ============== Debutant Rahul was the most impressive among the trio, making the third round (last-32) before going down 5-6 (8-10) to Aleksandre Machavariani of Georgia in the shoot-off.

The 21-year-old held a commanding 5-3 lead but faltered in the last two sets, once again exposing India's mental frailties under pressure in the Olympic recurve category.

After drawing the opening set 28-all, Rahul shot a perfect 30/30 in the second and edged the third 28-27 to go 5-1 up.

Needing only a draw in the fourth, he faltered with an 8 as Machavariani fired three 10s to stay alive.

The Georgian then took the fifth set 28-27 to force a shoot-off, where Rahul managed an 8 against his rival's perfect 10.

Olympian Dhiraj Bommadevara, the most experienced of the trio, had the toughest draw as he ran into former Olympic champion Mete Gazoz in the opening round.

The top-ranked Indian lost 2-6 after drawing the first set 29-all.

The second set was closely fought, but Gazoz's two 10s gave him a 29-28 edge.

The Turkish archer extended his lead to 5-2 with another 29-28 in the third.

Dhiraj drew the fourth 29-all, but it was not enough to stop Gazoz from sealing the win.

Neeraj Chauhan, meanwhile, was outclassed 0-6 by Uzbekistan's Bobrajabov Bekzod, losing in straight sets 27-29, 27-28, 26-29. PTI TAP AM TAP BS BS