Shanghai, China – The Indian archery trio of Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara, and Pravin Jadhav have secured a medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 1 after reaching the men’s recurve final on Thursday.
The Indian team, seeded second behind reigning world and Olympic champions South Korea, displayed their dominance by defeating Italy 5-1 in the semifinals without dropping a set. They will now face the top-seeded Korean trio of Kim Woojin, Lee Woo Seok, and Kim Je Deok in the gold medal match on Sunday.
The Korean trio, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, defeated Chinese Taipei’s Tan Chih-Chun, Lin Zih-Siang, and Tai Yu-Hsuan in straight sets 6-0 in the other semifinal.
Earlier, the Indians received a first-round bye in the season-opening tournament. They overcame a first-set deficit to beat 15th-seeded Indonesia 5-3 in their opening clash. They then showcased their prowess against seventh-seeded Spain, dropping just one point in the first set before cruising to a 5-1 victory to reach the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, and Bhajan Kaur, ranked sixth in the qualifiers, had a disappointing performance. They lost a 3-1 lead to Mexico in their opening clash. After receiving a bye in the first round, the Indian women’s team held a 3-1 lead in the second set. However, their scores were below par, and they lost 3-5. They hit twice in the red ring 7 in the opening set, dropped down to the sixth ring in the third set, and managed two eights in the final set.
