Asian Games: In Difficult Conditions, India Wins Bronze In Recurve Women's Team Event (ld)

Bhajan Kaur:  Playing in windy and rainy conditions, the Indian team of Ankita Bhakat, Bhajan Kaur and Siranjeet Kaur defeated Vietnam to win a bronze medal for India in the Recurve Women's Team competition in the Asian Games here on Friday.

This is India's first medal in the recurve section of archery while they have dominated the compound section by winning three gold medals. This takes to 87 India's total medals tally in the 19th Asian Games.

With the conditions making it difficult to control the arrows, the archers still managed to get so,e good scores to make a comeback and claim the bronze medal after they had lost to the Republic of Korea in the semifinals.

In the match to decide the bronze medal, the Indians won the first set 56-52 but their opponents came back to win the second 56-55. In the third set, the Indian girls shot three 10s and three 9s for a score of 57 while Vietnam had two 9s, three 8s, and one 7 as they scored 50.

Both teams were erratic in the fourth and final set with the arrows landing in sixes and sevens. The Indians shot two 10s, one 9, two 8s, and one 6 while their opponents had managed only one 10, one 9, three 7s, and 8 for a total of 48, India thus winning the match 6-2 on set points.

Earlier, the Indian team went down to the Republic of Korea 6-2 in the semifinal. They took a set off the strong Korean side but one or two low scores in each set cost them a chance of reaching the final.

In the first set, the Indians had a seven and eight while the Koreans shot two 10s and four 9s giving them the set 56-54.

In the second set, Ankita, Bhajan Kaur, and Simranjeet Kaur had three 8s while the Koreans shot three 10s and three 8sm losing 57-54 to go down 0-4 on points.

The Koreans faltered in the third set as they shot one 8, three 9s, and two 10s while the Indians had three 19s and three 9s, winning the set 57-55.

But the hopes of taking the match into the shoot-off were not realised as the Indians could manage only 52 points with three 9s and as many 8s while the Koreans had three 10s and three 9s.

India had reached the semifinals by beating Japan 6-2 in the morning.