India’s trio of Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru defeated South Korea 236-229 to enter the men’s compound team final at the Asian Games at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square on Wednesday.
India will face China in the gold-medal match, while South Korea will take on Chinese Taipei in the bronze-medal playoff.
South Korea began the semifinal with an 8, 10 and 10, while the Indian trio responded with three 10s to take an early lead. The Koreans then struck three 10s in the second rotation, but India matched them to lead 60-58 after the opening end.
South Korea again faltered with an 8 in its opening shot of the second end, followed by a 10 and a nine. India remained consistent, shooting 10, nine and 10 to strengthen its advantage. Although South Korea produced three 10s in the second rotation, India matched the feat to maintain a four-point lead at 119-115.
South Korea struggled again in the third end, opening with three 9s, while India registered three 10s. The Koreans then managed two 10s and a nine in their second rotation, but India continued to find 10s and extended the lead to 178-171.
Both teams began the final end with two 10s and a nine. India maintained its advantage in the second rotation and sealed a 236-229 victory to book its place in the final.
The victory puts India in contention for its third compound archery gold medal at the ongoing Games, after the women’s team and mixed team titles.
India enjoyed its most successful Asian Games archery campaign in Hangzhou in 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 one silver and one bronze.
(IANS Inputs)
