Okazaki: Indian trio of Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru thrashed South Korea 236-229 to enter the men’s compound team final here at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square on Wednesday.
India will fight for gold in the final against China, while South Korea will play in the bronze medal match against Chinese Taipei.
Korea started with a series of 8, 10 & 10, while the Indian trio responded with perfect 10s to take an early lead in the first rotation of End 1. Korea bounced back with perfect 10s in the second rotation, with India also hitting perfect 10s, holding a two-point lead after End-1, 60-58.
Korea fumbled again in the first shot of End 2 with 8, followed by 10 and 9. India, meanwhile, continued their dominant show, hitting 10, 9 and 10 in the first rotation. Korea shot three 10s in the second rotation, but it was not enough for them to pile pressure on India as the trio hit three 10s to keep their lead intact, 119-115.
Korea had a dismal start in End 3 with three 9s, and India stayed perfect with 10s in the first rotation. A nine from Korea after two 10s in the second rotation pegged them back as the Indians were dealing in 10s only to stretch the lead to 178-171.
In the End 4, Korea and India both shot two 10s and nine in the first rotation. The second rotation followed the same shots as India beat the Koreans, 236-229.
This will be the third gold medal for Indian compound archers, having won the gold medal in the women’s team and the mixed team disciplines.
India enjoyed its most successful Asian Games archery campaign in Hangzhou 2023, winning a record nine medals – five gold, two silver and two bronze. The compound archers swept all five gold medals on offer, while the recurve teams contributed a silver and a bronze.
(IANS)
