USA Defeats Indian Mixed Archery Team 6-2 in Paris Olympics Bronze Match

The record-setting Indian mixed duo of Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara came very close to putting an end to India’s 36-year quest for an Olympic prize in archery but fell short to secure fourth place at the Games in Paris on Friday. The team had already made history by reaching the semifinals of the Summer Games for the first time. However, the pair lost 37-38 35-37 38-34 35-37 to the American pair of world no.1 Casey Kaufhold and three-time Olympic medalist Brady Ellison to become members of the fourth-place finishers at the Olympics. Nevertheless, it was the most outstanding performance ever by an Indian team in the quadrennial spectacle.

Ankita experienced the most pressure as she shot two 7s and could only achieve a couple of 10s during the four sets.

Trailing 0-4, the Indians did well to stage a comeback as Ankita hit an excellent 10.

All four Indian arrows landed in the yellow area while Casey appeared somewhat nervous shooting a 7 with her first arrow before a 9 and 10. Nonetheless, the Indians did enough to win the third set.

While the 22-year-old Dhiraj was more steady shooting as many as four 10s, Ankita, who was outstanding against the Koreans in the semifinals, delivered a below-par performance, including a couple of 8s, which ultimately cost India the match.

Earlier in the semifinal, Dhiraj and Ankita had lost 2-6 (lost 38-36 35-38 37-38 38-39) to defending champions South Korea.

They did well to take a set off the formidable Koreans.

It was a poor start by Lim Sihyeon, who slipped to the 8-point red ring, and Kim Woo-jin also missed a 10, as India responded strongly with two 10s by Dhiraj while Ankita remained consistent with two 9s to take the initial set advantage against the world no.1 pair.

But the Koreans made a strong recovery with Kim hitting two 10s to start the second set as Ankita dropped two points at the beginning. The Koreans won the second set with a three-point difference and equalized the score.

The Koreans continued in the same manner in the following two sets.

Despite missing out on the medal, the Indians delivered one of their most unforgettable performances to reach the semifinals, the country’s first-ever appearance at the Summer Games when they defeated Spain 5-3 (38-37 38-38 36-37 37-36) in the quarterfinals.

Ankita and young Dhiraj won the first set 38-37 to take a 2-0 lead with the pair shooting two 10s and two 9s.

The resilient Spanish duo of Elia Canales and Pablo Acha Gonzalez matched India in the second set by tying the scores at 38-all to split the points.

India’s advantage was nullified in the third set after a below-par 36.

However, in the fourth and final set, Ankita and Dhiraj kept their composure to win the exciting match 37-36 to earn two full points and secure a spot in the semifinals, their best-ever performance in the quadrennial event.

In their opening round, the Indians had defeated Indonesia 5-1 (37-36 38-38 38-37).