Indian recurve archers Dheeraj Bommadevara and Bhajan Kaur won a bronze medal against the Mexican pair of Alejandra and Matias at the World Cup Stage 3 in Antalya on Sunday.
The match began with the first set of 4 arrows in favor of the Mexicans, but that didn’t affect the Indians. They bounced back with a perfect score of 40/40 against the Mexicans’ 39.
Set 3 ended with a bang, as Dheeraj hit the bullseye back-to-back—a visual delight. With Dheeraj and Bhajan in the lead (4-2), the last set ended in a draw, ensuring an Indian victory.
However, the second half of the day didn’t start as the Indian contingent hoped. Ankita Bhakat lost both her semi-final and bronze medal matches.
The semi-final match started with a perfect 30 from the Chinese counterpart, to which Ankita had no answer. Although she was able to bounce back in the 2nd set (28-27), she couldn’t surpass the scores of the Chinese athlete in the next 2 sets and eventually lost the match.
In the bronze medal match, Ankita lost her first 2 sets against the Mexican opponent Alejandra. She managed to win the 3rd set and draw the 4th set, but it was too late as Alejandra won the 5th and deciding set, clinching the bronze with a 7-3 victory.
Up next, with high expectations, was Dhiraj Bommadevara’s turn to turn the tide for India. Dhiraj faced World No. 3 Kim Woojin.
Both started the match with a tie in the first set, while a perfect 30 in the second set gave the Korean a vital lead. Dhiraj lagged throughout, and an 8-pointer in the 4th set paved the way for Kim to reach the finals.
However, Dhiraj showed no mercy in the bronze medal match, decimating Mauro Nespoli of Mexico with a 7-3 score.
Dhiraj won the 1st and 2nd sets of the match, ensuring a hefty lead. Despite a win and a tie from Nespoli in the subsequent sets, Dhiraj remained composed. With three 10s in the last set, Dhiraj sealed the bronze for himself and his country.