SHANGHAI, May 6: Indian compound men’s and women’s teams, considered strong medal contenders, endured a disappointing outing in Stage 2 of the Archery World Cup, failing to secure a podium finish after crumbling in crunch situations here on Wednesday.
The biggest setback came from the women’s team, who had won India’s only gold medal at the season-opening World Cup in Mexico last month.
The trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Pragati and Aditi Swami crashed out in the quarterfinals, losing 227-233 to Turkey.
The Indian trio failed to match the consistency of Hazal Burun, Defne Cakmak and Emine Rabia Oguz, who seized control from the second end and never let go, sealing a comfortable six-point win.
The men’s team of Ojas Deotale, Sahil Jadhav, and Kushal Dalal raised hopes by reaching the semifinals but faltered when it mattered the most, returning empty handed after back-to-back defeats under pressure.
In the bronze medal match, India lost to China in a dramatic shoot-off after scores were tied at 234-234.
Even the shoot-off ended level with three perfect arrows each, but the Chinese had two arrows closer to the centre (X) compared to India’s one, clinching the contest.
India had led by one point (118-117) at the halfway stage, but Shi Jingyu, Liu Jinyu and Qi Xiangshuo fought back to level scores in the third end.
A tense final end saw both teams tied at 58, with India dropping crucial points under pressure.
The semifinal defeat was equally telling.
The third-seeded Indians lost 234-235 to seventh-seeded USA despite leading through the first three ends.
After a perfect opening end of 60, India held a 177-176 advantage but managed only three 10s in the final six arrows, compared to five by James Lutz, Louis Price and Gaius Carter.
The twin losses once again exposed India’s inability to hold nerve in decisive moments — a worrying trend for a team that has long relied on compound events as their biggest medal prospect.
With less than four months to go for the Asian Games, the results also underline deeper issues.
The continued absence of a full-time foreign coach and lack of structured planning have started to show on the field, raising serious questions about India’s medal prospects in the continental showpiece in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The mixed team pair of Ojas Deotale and Aditi Swami now remains India’s only hope in the team events.
INDIANS ADVANCE IN SINGLES
There was, however, some respite in the individual section, with all Indian compound archers progressing to the round of 32.
In the men’s draw, Abhishek Verma, Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal and Ojas Deotale won their respective matches to advance. Verma is set to face Jadhav in an all-India round of 32 clash.
Among women, 33rd seed Madhura edged past China’s Wang Yue 148-147 but faces a tough test against top seed Alexis Ruiz of the USA next.
Jyothi, who had a disappointing 21st-place finish in qualification, bounced back in style with a perfect 150 to defeat Diana Yunussova of Kazakhstan.
Former world champion Aditi, India’s best performer in qualification at 13th, dropped just three points in a convincing win over Great Britain’s Isabelle Carpenter.
Pragati also survived a close contest, edging out Ong Madeleine Xue Li of Singapore 143-142.
RECURVE ARCHERS
India’s recurve archers showed signs of recovery after their empty-handed outing in Puebla, with the women leading the charge in the qualification round and putting themselves in contention for a podium finish.
Ankita Bhakat spearheaded the show with a top-10 finish, scoring 652 points, while rising teenager Kumkum Mohod was close behind in 11th place with 651.
Veteran Deepika Kumari, also on 651, finished 14th on X count to complete the team lineup, as Simranjeet Kaur (648) missed the team cut, ending 15th overall among Indians.The Indian women’s team secured a strong fourth-place ranking, and are headed for a possible semifinal clash against formidable South Korea as a bronze medal would be a realistic target.
In the men’s section, Dhiraj Bommadevara led from the front with a seventh-place finish (679), but the overall effort lacked depth.
Veteran Tarundeep Rai slipped to 29th (661), while Yashdeep Bhoge (653) was placed 54th but based on Dhiraj’s strong show India finished eighth in the team rankings.
Drawn in the same half as South Korea, they face a likely quarterfinal hurdle, making their medal prospects appear slim in the team event.
Former Olympian Atanu Das endured a disappointing outing, finishing a lowly 67th with 643 to miss the team cut.
In the mixed team event, Ankita and Bommadevara combined to give India a respectable sixth-place ranking. (PTI)
