Archery World Cup: India's Atanu Das, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Tarundeep Rai clinch silver in recurve men's team event

The Indian team lost 4-5 to China in a shoot-off in a thrilling final.

The Indian men’s recurve team lost to China (4-5) in the final at the Archery World Cup Stage I 2023. The lack of inconsistency hurt India in the first two sets. China took this to their advantage and went ahead with a 4-0 lead. Dhiraj Bommadevara and Tarundeep Rai in particular, scored below 9s which did not help India’s cause.

The comeback after the initial hiccup was good as India won the third set 59-58. Atanu Das scored his first 10 (after scoring four 9s in the previous two sets) helping India win the third set (59-58). The score read 56-46 in the fourth set and China had one arrow to shoot. A score of 9 in the one remaining shot would have sealed the match in their favour. However, China shot 8, which helped India level up 4-4.

The match eventually went down to the shoot-off. The score was tied (28-28) but China had an X (closer inner circle) helping them clinch the gold medal. China has made a good comeback to the international circuit (after a gap of four years). 

The Indian men’s recurve team were seeded fourth at the end of the qualification round. The top three Indian archers from the qualifiers Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai, and Dhiraj Bommadevara formed a formidable team. The Indian men’s team received a bye in the opening round and took on Japan in the following round. The second-round match against Japan was highly competitive with the winner decided through the shoot-offs. India won the match by the slightest margin (29-28) in the shoot-off helping them get through to the quarterfinals.

The route to the final was pretty easy as India won both its quarter-final and semi-final matches against Chinese Taipei and Netherlands with ease (similar scoreline 2-6). 

Later in the day, 15th seed Dhiraj Bommadevara is set to take on sixth seed Dan Olaru in the semifinals of men’s individual recurve. Dhiraj won the All-India quarterfinal clash against experienced Tarundeep Rai (2-6) in the quarterfinals and is the lone Indian left in the individual event.

Performances at the Archery World World Cup Stage I 2023

Round 1 - Bye

Round 2 - defeats Japan (5-4)

Quarterfinals - defeats Chinese Taipei (6-2)

Semifinals - defeats Netherlands (6-2)

Final - lost to China (4-5)