Indian backup archers pip higher-ranked Venezuela, win bronze in World Cup

Not a bad showing from a second-string team against a higher ranked opponent

Stage four of the Archery World Cup in Medellin, Colombia, saw a trio of Indian substitutes capture a bronze medal. The sixth-seeded Indian team of Sarvesh Pareek, Sandeep Kumar and Isaiah Rajender Sanam outplayed higher-ranked Venezuela 231-222 on Sunday.

A second bronze medal eluded India in the compound mixed pair event, where the uninitiated duo of Sarvesh Pareek and Trisha Deb lost 150-156 to the top ranked American team of Reo Wilde and Lexi Keller.

The fourth seeded Venezuelan trio of Nelson Torres, Leandro Rojas and Eduardo Gonzalez began the contest well, but were very circumspect even as the scores were level 58-all at the first end. The Indians soon gained a three point lead which they capitalized on and increased towards the end of the match. Sensing their opponents’ deficiency, the Indians’ steady focus paid off as they shot five close to the center and stayed in control for the remainder of the match.

The compund mixed pair event witnessed the more accomplished American team score a perfect 80/80 which included three close to the center to take a big 80-72 lead in the first two ends against the floundering Indian pair. The persistence of the tenth ranked Indian pair should be acknowledged, as they scored a perfect 40 in the third end, but the unperturbed American duo stuck to their guns and came out on top.

The compound legs consisted of a 50m qualification round of 72 arrows, followed by the compound round at 50m on a 6-zone target face, using cumulative scoring for all individual, team and mixed competitions. The top seven individual performers (with no more than two from each country,) plus one host nation representative if not already qualified, proceeded to the finals; the top mixed team performer proceeded to face the host nation at the finals, which were the same competition format as the legs. The team competition was not competed at the finals.

The recurve legs consisted of a 1440 qualification round (formerly called a FITA round), followed by an 72m Olympic set system . The top seven individual performers (with no more than two from each country), plus one host nation representative if not already qualified, proceeded to the finals; the top mixed team performer proceeded to face the host nation at the finals, which were the same competition format as the legs.

The team representing India at the Archery World Cup is an ancillary outfit, with the main contingent undergoing a week-long Olympic test event in Rio De Janeiro. This concludes the fourth leg of the World Cup. The finals will be held in Mexico City from 17–18 October