Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 2 (ANI): India’s Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara settled for silver within the blended recurve archery workforce occasion on the Asian Games 2026 after dropping 3-5 to China’s Zhu Jingyi and Li Mengqi within the gold-medal match on Friday.
The Indian pair, who had defeated Japan 5-3 within the semifinal earlier within the day, struggled to seek out their vary within the opening two units and fell 0-4 behind earlier than mounting a fightback, in accordance with ESPN.
China dominated the opening set 38-34 to take a 2-0 lead. Zhu produced two 10s, whereas Li added an 8 and a ten as China established an early benefit.
India once more fell quick within the second set, dropping 35-37. Kumkum managed solely two 8s, whereas Dhiraj contributed a 9 and a ten, however Zhu and Li mixed for 37 to place China 4-0 forward.
Facing the prospect of the match ending within the third set, India responded strongly. Kumkum opened with an 8 earlier than hitting a ten along with her second arrow, whereas Dhiraj added a ten and a 9 to take India to 37.
China wanted 18 factors from their remaining two arrows to seal the gold, however after Zhu’s 10, Li may handle solely a 7. India gained the set 37-36 to remain alive at 2-4.
The fourth set went all the way down to the ultimate arrow. India posted 37, with Kumkum hitting a 9 and a ten and Dhiraj including a pair of 9s.
China wanted 19 from their remaining two arrows to win the match. Zhu shot a 9 earlier than Li delivered a ten to take China to 37, which tied the set and helped the Chinese pair seal the gold medal with a 5-3 victory.
The consequence additionally meant India missed out on the automated Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification quota hooked up to the blended workforce occasion. China secured the quota by profitable the gold.
Despite the defeat, the silver added one other medal to India’s robust day in recurve archery.
Earlier, Kumkum, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma defeated South Korea 5-3 within the girls’s recurve workforce remaining to win gold and declare India’s first-ever medal within the occasion on the Asian Games.
The victory was India’s eleventh gold medal on the Aichi-Nagoya Games, whereas the blended workforce’s silver took the nation’s general medal tally to 68 — 11 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze — with India seventh on the medal desk on the time of writing.
Kumkum, 17, was a part of each the ladies’s workforce gold-medal-winning facet and the blended workforce silver-winning pair on Friday, making her one among India’s outstanding performers in recurve archery on the Games. (ANI)