The Indian recurve mixed team of Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das put up an excellent performance to book their berth in the gold medal match at the Antalya World Cup Stage 3 on Tuesday. The Indian duo has a tough task next, though, as they face the top-seeded Korean team of Choi Misun and Ku Bonchan in the final on Sunday.
The sixth seeds Deepika and Atanu were in fine form and made a giant-killing run en route to the summit clash. After beating Turkey 5-1, they held their nerves to edge past the third seeds Russia 5-4 with a 19-18 score in the shoot-off.
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In the semi-finals, they were up against the strong second-seeded pair consisting of Olympic team champion Mauro Nespoli and former World Championships team gold medallist Guendalina Sartori. The Indians, however, refused to be intimidated by their opponents and pummelled them for an incredible 5-1 victory to enter the final.
Deepika Kumari 12th in individual qualification
Meanwhile in recurve women’s competition, the former World No. 1 Kumari secured the 12th position with 663 points while Laishram Bombayla Devi was right behind her at 13th with 661.
Also Read: Rio Olympics 2016: Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi named in Indian contingent
Laxmirani Majhi was 24th after scoring 654 and Rimil Buriuly ended up in the 90th position as she could only muster 654.
The team got the sixth seeding with a total of 1978 and will now face 11th seeds Japan.
This is a vital tournament for the Indian women’s recurve team as they will use this event to fine-tune their skills and gauge themselves ahead of the Rio Olympics.
Compound women’s team qualifies eighth
In compound archery, the women’s team of Lily Chanu Paonam, Purvasha Sudhir Shende and Divya Dhayal got placed eighth and will open against the ninth seeds South Africa. In men’s, the Indian trio of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Chinna Raju Srither bagged the 10th seeding. They will take on the seventh seeds Turkey in the pre-quarter-finals.
Unlike their recurve counterparts, the compound mixed team could not make an impact as they crashed out 154-157 to the fifth seeds USA in the Round of 16.
