Archery World Cup: Deepika Kumari secures fifth silver medal
What's the story
India's top recurve archer, Deepika Kumari has claimed her fifth silver medal at the World Cup Final in Mexico. She finished as the runner-up after losing to China's Li Jiaman (0-6) in the final. Kumari returned to the World Cup Final after a three-year break, having given birth to her daughter in December 2022. Despite being seeded third among eight archers, she couldn't win gold against fourth-seed Li Jiaman.
Path to silver
Kumari's journey to the final
Kumari had a great run till the semi-finals but fell short in the gold medal match against Li. This was her ninth World Cup Final appearance, where she has previously won a bronze medal. Despite her strong performance in earlier rounds, Kumari couldn't keep up with Li Jiaman. She lost the first set by a point (26-27). Despite improving in second set, Li's perfect 30 gave her a 2-0 lead (30-28).
Final setback
Decisive third set seals Kumari's fate
The third set turned out to be decisive as Kumari's second arrow hit the red seven-ring, giving Li a chance to win with three solid 9s. Li took the set 27-25 and won the gold medal on her debut World Cup Final appearance. Despite the loss, Kumari had earlier beaten Mexico's Alejandra Valencia in a thrilling semi-final, which ended 6-4 (29-28, 26-26, 26-29, 28-28, 28-27).
Early exit
Dhiraj Bommadevara exits early from men's recurve
In the men's recurve category, India's only qualifier Dhiraj Bommadevara bowed out early despite leading 4-2 against South Korea's Lee Woo Seok. The five-member Indian team, which included three compound and two recurve archers, ended their season-ending World Cup Final campaign with a solitary medal. On the compound side, all three members of the Indian team returned empty-handed, having ended their campaign.