Archery World Cup: Deepika Kumari secures fifth silver medal
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.
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).
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).
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.
