Muristek
Gwangju (S Korea), May 20
India's mixed team of compound archers will be fighting for a bronze medal after its semifinal defeat, while the recurve team put up yet another dismal show at the World Cup Stage 2 here today.
The mixed pair of Abhishek Verma and Avneet Kaur ousted Denmark (157-155) and the fancied Mexico (156-153) before going down to 10th seed Estonia (156-158) in a close semifinal to end up in the bronze medal playoff round. The sixth-seeded Indians will take on the fourth-seeded Turkey in their bid to win the country's third bronze here.
It was the same old story for the recurve archers as they again crumbled against the South Koreans to cap another forgettable outing — a solitary bronze in the women's team event.
In the absence of Olympians Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari, who have been axed, India fielded a new-look mixed team of Tarundeep Rai and Ridhi Phor. The seventh-seeded duo, who got a bye into the pre-quarters, defeated 10th seed Japan 5-3 (33-38 36-36 38-32 38-36), but lost 1-5 (37-37 32-35 36-37) to Germany in the next round.
In the recurve women's individual section, Komalika Bari and Phor lost in the first round and pre-quarterfinals, respectively.