New Delhi: The Indian women’s and mixed pair compound archery teams signed off with silver medals. India was in pursuit of its first-ever gold medal at the world event.
The Indian Women’s Compound Team and the Mixed Team had reached the gold medal match and were up against Colombia in both finals. But both fell short in difficult windy conditions against opponents that were too strong and mastered the conditions better.
India had reached the final six times at the World Championships earlier but had failed to win the gold every time. They were aiming to claim their first World Championship title on Friday but their hopes were dashed by a strong performance by Colombia, who captured the gold medal for the first time after 2017.
The Colombians, who topped the rankings, drilled in 15 perfect 10s with five Xs (closest to the center). The Indian women’s team failed to snatch a lead shooting twice in the red circle as their opponents gained a one-point advantage.
There was no stopping the Colombians thereafter as they shot eight 10s from 12 arrows in the last two ends to win their third women’s title, and first since 2017.
In the mixed pair event, India had a poor second end where they shot two 9s and one 8 to squander a one-point lead and lose the match by four points.
(_Vinayak Barot)
