India men’s recurve team wins silver medal

Okazaki India’s men’s recurve archery team won a silver medal after losing 1-5 to nine-time champions South Korea in the final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday. The Indian trio of Neeraj Chauhan, Yashdeep Bhoge and Dhiraj Bommadevara were unable to overcome the experienced Korean combination of Kim Je Deok, Kim Woojin and Lee Wooseok at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square. India and South Korea shared the opening set after both teams scored 56 points from six arrows. India had an opportunity to take the lead but managed 27 points from their final three arrows, with scores of 10, 8 and 9, allowing Korea to level the set. The Koreans then produced a dominant performance in the second set, scoring 57 points against India’s 50. Korea hit four 10s, while the Indian archers struggled to maintain consistency. Yashdeep and Neeraj each recorded an eight, while Dhiraj also had two shots scoring eight. Trailing 1-3, India needed a strong response in the third set. The Indian trio scored 28 points from their opening three arrows, with Neeraj hitting a 10 and Yashdeep and Dhiraj scoring nines. Korea matched the score, leaving the contest finely poised. India then lost ground after Neeraj recorded a seven with the fourth arrow. Yashdeep and Dhiraj followed with a nine and a 10, but Korea needed only 27 points from their final three arrows and secured 28 to win the set 56-54 and the match 5-1. The result gave India its second consecutive silver medal in the men’s recurve team event at the Asian Games. India had also lost the final to South Korea at Hangzhou 2023, where Bommadevara was part of the silver-medal-winning team. Despite missing out on gold, the Indian team added another medal to the country’s growing tally at the Games.