NEW DELHI: India’s men’s recurve team added another silver medal to the country’s growing archery haul at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, losing 1-5 to South Korea in the gold-medal match on Friday.Dhiraj Bommadevara, Yashdeep Bhoge and Neeraj Chauhan were unable to overcome the formidable Korean trio, but their silver ensured another medal for India on a memorable day for the archers.It was India’s third archery medal on Friday, taking the country’s overall tally in the sport at the Asian Games to seven — four gold, two silver and one bronze.The silver also matched India’s finish in the men’s recurve team event from the previous edition in Hangzhou.Asian Games Full Coverage | Medal Tally | Schedule
India pushed Korea in opening set
India made an encouraging start to the final, shooting 29 with their opening three arrows and putting the pressure on Korea.The Koreans responded with an identical 29, taking the set to 56 after six arrows. India needed 28 from their final three arrows to win the set outright, but an 8 from one of their archers left them short. The set ended level, with both teams taking one point as India and Korea moved to 1-1.Korea then produced a stunning start to the second set, hitting a perfect 30 from their opening three arrows. India, by contrast, managed only 25 from their first three shots and were immediately under pressure. The Indian trio managed to post 50 overall, but Korea finished on 57 to take the set and move 3-1 ahead.India needed a strong response in the third set to stay alive in the contest.They began with 28 from their opening three arrows, with Korea matching that score to keep the set finely poised. However, Neeraj’s 7 with his second arrow put India on the back foot. Dhiraj produced a crucial 10 with India’s final arrow to take the team’s score to 54, but Korea remained composed and finished on 56 to seal the gold medal.India eventually lost the contest 1-5 and had to settle for silver.
Another big day for Indian archery
The men’s team had booked its place in the final earlier in the day with a commanding 6-0 victory over Iran in the semifinal.Dhiraj, Yashdeep and Neeraj defeated Mohammadhossein Golshani, Sadegh Ashrafi and Reza Shabani 58-53, 56-53, 56-55.Korea had also produced a dominant semifinal performance, blanking Chinese Taipei 6-0 to set up the final against India.The men’s silver came after an extraordinary morning session for Indian archery.Ankita Bhakat, Kirti Sharma and 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod stunned 10-time Olympic champions South Korea 5-3 to win India’s maiden Asian Games gold in the women’s recurve team event.Later, Kumkum and Dhiraj added another silver after China defeated them 5-3 in the mixed team recurve final.India’s four archery gold medals have come in the men’s compound, women’s compound, mixed compound and women’s recurve team events.With the men’s recurve silver and mixed recurve silver added to the tally, India now have seven archery medals — four gold, two silver and one bronze — in Aichi-Nagoya.
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