Archers claim two bronze, reach four finals in Asia Cup

Bangkok: Indian archers bagged two bronze medals and also stormed into the finals of the men’s recurve and women’s compound team events on the second day of the Asia Cup World Ranking Tournament Stage 1 here on Wednesday.

India also confirmed three medals in the individual section, but it came with the embarrassment for the recurve men, where none of the four archers could reach the medal rounds in a sharp fall from the previous edition’s top-two finish by Vishnu Choudhary and Rahul.

The women’s compound team improved on its bronze from the previous edition by reaching the final.

The trio of Chikitha Taniparthi, Raj Kaur and Tejal Salve edged past local favourites Kanyavee Maneesombatkul, Kanoknapus Kaewchomphu and Chaniddapa Thanaratpitinan 229-226 in a closely-fought semifinal to set up a summit clash against third-seeded Kazakhstan.

However, there was some disappointment in the men’s compound section, where India fielded one of their most experienced combinations.

Despite topping the qualification round with Indian archers sweeping the top four spots, the team failed to defend its title and had to settle for a bronze.

The trio of Rajat Chauhan, Rishabh Yadav and Uday Kamboj squandered a strong five-point lead to lose 233-234 to Vietnam in the semifinals.

The Indians, however, bounced back to beat Bhutan 234-232 in the bronze medal match.

In the recurve section, India entered the men’s team final with a 5-1 win over Malaysia. The top-seeded trio of Devaang Gupta, Sukhchain Singh and Juyel Sarkar won comfortably without dropping a set.

India took the opening set 53-50 and edged the second 53-52 in a low-scoring contest.

Later in the afternoon session that catered to individual rounds, India had mixed outing.

In men’s compound, Chauhan, Jawkar and Kamboj overcame the disappointment of team showing by progressing to the medal matches and kept alive hopes of a clean sweep.

Jawkar edged past Chauhan 149-148 in a tight semifinal, while Kamboj defeated local favourite Peerawat Rattanapongkiat 147-145.

Jawkar and Kamboj will now clash for gold, with Chauhan set to compete for bronze.

Ridhi kept India’s campaign alive in women’s recurve, storming into the final to stay in contention for her maiden international

individual gold.