The Indian men’s recurve team featuring Atanu Das, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Tushar Shelke settled for silver in the final after suffering a defeat 1-5 against Korea at the ongoing 19th Asian Games. The Indian trio lost the gold medal match 1-5 to the Korean team consisting of Lee Wooseok, Oh Jinhyek and Kim Je Deok.
This is India’s first-ever silver medal in the Recurve team event at Asiad. Korea needed a perfect 10 on the last shot to finish it off and win it, and their archers delivered it perfectly. An 8 in the third arrow from Korea kept India interested. However, courtesy of a 7 in the second arrow, India’s score was not large enough to defend as well. In the end, it was the Koreans who took an unassailable 5-1 lead in the match and were crowned champions.
En route to the final, the Indian men’s recurve team defeated Bangladesh 5-3 in the semifinals, clinching a final date against the Republic of Korea, the eight-time Asian Games champions. After two sets, India led 4-0, but Bangladesh won the third. The points were divided 57-57 in the final set, advancing the Indian team to the final. With this victory, the Indian archery trio was guaranteed a silver medal at the 19th Asian Games.
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Earlier, Atanu Das and his team defeated Mongolia 5-4 in the quarterfinals. India won the first and third sets, while Mongolia won the second and fourth, forcing a shoot-off. In the shoot-off, Indian archers scored 10, 9, and 9, outscoring Mongolia’s scores of 9, 9, and 7.
Meanwhile, The Indian women’s recurve team comprising Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Simranjeet Kaur defeated the Vietnamese team of Do Thi Anh Nguyet, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhi and Phuong Thao Hoang 6-2 to bag a bronze medal.
