Dhiraj Bommadevara (R) and Ankita Bhakat compete in the archery mixed team event at Paris Olympics.© AFP
The history-making Indian mixed team of Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara came agonisingly close to ending India's 36-year wait for an Olympic medal in archery but fell short to finish fourth at the Games in Paris on Friday. The team had already created history by entering the semifinals of the Summer Games for the first time. But the duo lost 37-38 35-37 38-34 35-37 to the American combine of world no.1 Casey Kaufhold and three-time Olympic-medallist Brady Ellison to join the fourth-finishers' club at the Olympics. It was nonetheless the best ever performance by an Indian team in the quadrennial showpiece.
Ankita felt the pressure the most as she fired two 7s and could manage only a couple of 10s in the course of the four sets.
Trailing 0-4, the Indians did well to make a comeback as Ankita struck a superb 10.
All four Indian arrows were in the yellow zone while Casey looked a bit nervous firing a 7 with her first arrow before a 9 and 10. But the Indians did enough to take the third set.
While the 22-year-old Dhiraj was more consistent shooting as many as four 10s, Ankita, who was exceptional against the Koreans in the semifinals, produced a below par performance, including a couple of 8s, which eventually cost India the contest.
Earlier in the semifinal, Dhiraj and Ankita had gone down 2-6 (lost 38-36 35-38 37-38 38-39) to defending champions South Korea.
They did well to take a set off the mighty Koreans.
It was a poor start by Lim Sihyeon, who slipped to the 8-point red ring and Kim Woo-jin also missed a 10, as India responded strongly with two 10s by Dhiraj while Ankita remained consistent with two 9s to take the opening set advantage against the world no.1 combination.
But the Koreans made a strong comeback with Kim drilling in two 10s to start the second set as Ankita dropped two points to begin with. The Koreans took the second set with a three-point margin and drew level.
The Koreans continued in the same vein in the next two sets.
Despite the medal eluding them, the Indians came up with one of their most memorable performances to enter the semifinals, the country's first-ever at the Summer Games when they defeated Spain 5-3 (38-37 38-38 36-37 37-36) in the quarterfinals.
Ankita and young Dhiraj took the first set 38-37 to take a 2-0 lead with the duo firing two 10s and two 9s.
The fighting Spanish team of Elia Canales and Pablo Acha Gonzalez matched India in the second set by tying the scores at 38-all to share the points.
India's advantage was neutralised in the third set following a below par 36.
However, in the fourth and last set, Ankita and Dhiraj held their nerves to win the thrilling contest 37-36 to notch two full points and secure a semifinal spot, their best ever showing in the quadrennial showpiece.
In their opening round the Indians had trounced Indonesia 5-1 (37-36 38-38 38-37).
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