The Indian women’s recurve archery team pulled off a thrilling comeback to win the gold medal in the second phase of the Archery World Cup in Shanghai on Sunday. threesome Deepika Kumari, Ankita Barkat 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod defeated the host China team 5-4 in a tense deciding game, and the four-set tie was 4-4.The win was significant for India as the team had previously defeated the mighty South Korea, a ten-time Olympic champion, in the semi-finals. This is also India’s first gold medal in the women’s recurve team World Cup since 2021 and their first medal in the category in three years.
Deepika, India’s most experienced archer, played a key role throughout the tournament. In the absence of a full-time national team coach, the veteran archer continued to guide and inspire his younger teammates at critical moments.The Indian team started strongly and won the first set 54-53. Deepika scored 10 consecutive points to give the team confidence. But China quickly struck back. In the second set, the Indian team performed poorly. Kumkum only scored 8 points. Deepika unexpectedly scored 7 points with the last arrow, and the Chinese team tied the score 2-2.In the third set, the Chinese team’s last shot improved from 8 to 9, and the home team led 4-2.Although Deepika regained her form with two perfect 10s, India looked close to defeat in the fourth set. The Chinese team only needed nine points from the final to win the championship in front of their home crowd.But Chinese young archer Yu Qi scored 8 points under pressure, giving the Indian team a glimmer of hope and forcing the game into a decider.The Indian team performed well in the decider. Ankita opened with a 9, Kumkum followed with a brilliant 10 and Deepika calmly shot a 9, needing only 8 to clinch the gold medal.
