Okazaki, October 2 (Daily Kiran) : India’s mixed recurve archery team, featuring Dheeraj Bommadevara and Kumkum Mohod, settled for a silver medal after a tough final against China at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square. The Chinese team not only clinched the gold medal but also secured a quota spot for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, leaving the Indian duo without Olympic qualification.
This marks India’s second medal in recurve archery at the Asian Games. Earlier, the women’s team achieved a historic first gold medal by defeating the ten-time champions from South Korea.
In the mixed team final, India started with scores of 9 and 8, while China responded with 10 and 8. Dheeraj followed up with a score of 7, but Kumkum hit a 10. Despite this, China managed to take the first set with two scores of 10, establishing an early 2-0 lead.
In the second set, both Indian archers scored 8 and 9, but China matched them with scores of 9 and 8. Kumkum then shot an 8, while Dheeraj hit the target’s center. China scored two more 10s, extending their lead to 4-0.
The third set saw Kumkum score 8 and Dheeraj hit the target’s center again. China responded with scores of 9 and 10, increasing the pressure on India. However, Kumkum scored a 10, and Dheeraj followed with a 9, allowing India to win the set and bring the score to 4-2.
In the fourth set, India began with two scores of 9, while China scored 8 and 10. Both Kumkum and Dheeraj then shot 10 and 9, respectively. China equaled India’s total with a score of 9 from Zhu and a 10 from Li, resulting in a tie at 37-37, which was enough for them to secure the gold medal.
Earlier in the tournament, Dheeraj and Kumkum made history by becoming the first Indian pair to reach the mixed team final after overcoming Japan 5-3 in the semifinals, having initially trailed 3-1.
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