Dhiraj, Kirti squander 3-1 lead, misses Archery World Cup bronze

MADRID: India's recurve mixed pair of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Kirti Sharma squandered a promising 3-1 lead to miss out on the bronze medal, losing 3-5 to Italy at the Archery World Cup Stage 4, here on Sunday.

For Dhiraj, the Antalya World Cup champion, it was a disappointing end to the campaign as he returned empty-handed from Madrid despite having won the recurve mixed team gold with Kumkum Mohod at the third stage last month.

With the defeat, India's hopes in the recurve section now rest solely on Kirti, who will compete in the individual semifinals later on Sunday.

A victory there would clinch the 19-year-old her maiden World Cup medal. Kirti made her World cup debut last month in Antalya.

India have so far secured two medals at the season's final World Cup stage, both in the compound section on Saturday. The women's team claimed bronze, while Prithika Pradeep won a silver.

Competing together for the first time, Dhiraj and Kirti began steadily, sharing the opening set 38-38.

They maintained their consistency in the second set, dropping just two points for a score of 38, while the Italian duo of Roberta Di Francesco and Matteo Borsani managed 37, allowing the Indians to take a 3-1 lead.

However, the momentum shifted in the third set as India shot an 8 and a 9, finishing with 37.

The Italians raised their game, dropping just one point for a near-perfect 39 to level the contest at 3-3.

In the decisive fourth set, Di Francesco and Borsani were flawless, shooting four 10s for a perfect 40.

India could muster only 37, conceding the set and the bronze medal with a 3-5 defeat.