Archery World Cup 2022 | Tarundeep Rai, Ridhi win gold in recurve mixed team event
A file image of Tarundeep Rai.
|(Getty)
After a difficult final versus Great Britain on Sunday, India's Tarundeep Rai and Ridhi won the recurve mixed team gold medal at the Archery World Cup 2022 in Antalya, Turkey. The Indian archery team had to come from behind twice before defeating Brits Bryony Pitman and Alex Wise in a shootout.
The 17-year-old Ridhi and the 38-year-old Olympian Tarundeep Rai got off to a slow start in the first set, losing 35-37. Despite falling behind 2-0 in the first set, Ridhi and Rai rallied to win the second set 36-33. The Indians shot well in the third set with 39, but there was little they could do as the English archers racked up a perfect 40.
Rai and Ridhi staged yet another comeback in the fourth set, winning 38-37 to level the match at 4-4 and force the shootout. The Indians subsequently won the shootout 18-17, bringing the game to a close. It was India's second medal at the competition in Turkey, after the compound men's team of Abhishek Verma, Aman Saini, and Rajat Chauhan won gold in the final on Saturday after defeating France.
Abhishek Verma and Muskan Kirar of India's mixed compound team advanced to the bronze medal match but were defeated. These three medal matches were the only ones India could manage at the competition, which, despite the two gold medals, was a letdown for the Indian archers in the stage 1 Archery World Cup.
Only London 2012 Olympian Jayanta Talukdar made the top eight in the men's individual recurve. Tarundeep Rai was eliminated in the round of 32, while Sachin Gupta was eliminated in the round of 64. Neeraj Chauhan was eliminated in the first round.
Meanwhile, Ridhi advanced to the Round of 16 in the women's individual recurve. Komalika Bari was eliminated in the round of 32, while Anikta Bhakat and Simranjeet Kaur were eliminated in the first round.
Only Rajat Chauhan and Priya Gurjar made the top eight in the men's and women's individual events, respectively, for the compound archers. Abhishek Verma, the Asian Games gold medalist, was eliminated in the round of 32. The men's and women's recurve teams, as well as the women's compound team, were unable to advance to the medal rounds.
