NEW DELHI: The Indian women’s recurve team registered one of its biggest victories in recent times by defeating ten-time Olympic champions South Korea on Thursday to reach the finals of the second phase of the Archery World Cup.Experienced trio Deepika Kumari, Ankita Barkat Junior archer Kumkum Mohod used a composed performance to win India’s first medal of the tournament as they defeated the mighty South Korea 5-1 in the semi-finals.
The memorable win sets the stage for Sunday’s gold medal match against second-seeded China.While the women’s team posted a sensational result, the men’s recurve team had a disappointing performance as they suffered a 2-6 under-par defeat to Bangladesh in the first round.Deepika’s India surpasses South KoreaFacing the most dominant nation in the sport, the Indian women’s team showed remarkable composure from the first set.The fourth-seeded Indians got off to a strong start, hitting four of six arrows for a perfect 10 and only losing two points to win the first set 58-55. South Korea looked a little uneasy at first and got into trouble after scoring eight points.Despite a slight dip in accuracy, India kept the pressure on in the second set. The two teams eventually tied at 56-56, and the Indians expanded their advantage to 3-1.With victory within reach, Deepika and her team once again withstood the pressure. The Indian team once again scored a brilliant 58 points in the third set, while the South Korean team scored 56 points to seal the victory 5-1.However, South Korea fielded an inexperienced combination in preparation for the upcoming games. Asian Games in Japan. Debutants Lee Yoon-ji and Oh Ye-jin were joined by reigning world champion Kang Chae-young, while Olympic stars An San and Lim Si-hyun were absent.India survives shootoutEarlier in the day, the Indian women’s football team recovered from a slow start to beat Uzbekistan 6-2 in their first-round match.Their toughest challenge is against Vietnam in the quarter-finals. After the score was set at 4-4, the game entered a tense decider.The Indian team performed well under pressure and scored only 2 points from three arrows to seal the victory 28-25 and advance to the semi-finals.Men’s team vs BangladeshIn comparison, Tarundeep Rai of the Indian men’s recurve team, Dhiraj Bangmadewala Yashdeep Borg had a memorable game against Bangladesh.The trio failed to win a set and had poor consistency throughout the match.Bangladesh took advantage of India’s many mistakes and easily sealed the victory 6-2, knocking India out of the match early.
