Gwangju (South Korea): The Indian men's compound archery team produced stunning performances to oust world no.1 USA and powerhouse South Korea in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, to assure itself a silver medal at the World Cup Stage 2 here on Wednesday.
Abhishek Verma, Aman Saini and Rajat Chauhan rose above expectations to shock USA 234-228 in the quarterfinals before getting the better of South Korea in the shoot-off to seal their place in the title clash, where they will take on world no.4 France. Later, the women's compound team of Avneet Kaur, Muskan Kirar and Priya Gurjar suffered a two-point defeat against South Korea in the semifinals but managed to claim a bronze, defeating Turkey 232-231.
Read: Referee attacked, wrestler Satender Malik banned for life; security a major concern for WFI
The biggest shocker came earlier in the day in the men's compound team event when the Indian trio of Abhishek, Aman and Rajat defeated USA in a one-sided quarterfinal. Continuing their giant-killing run, the Indians then bounced back from a two-point deficit at the halfway mark to oust the Korean trio of Kim Jongho, Choi Yonghee and Yang Jaewon in a shoot-off 233-233 (29-26) to advance into the final.
Having started off with a one-point lead (59-58) in the semifinals, the Indians found the going tough and lost the next two ends to trail 174-176. In the fourth end, they edged out the Koreans 59-57 to level the scores at 233-233. In the shoot-off, the top-seeded Koreans crumbled under pressure, shooting one in the outer red circle (7) as the Indians shot two Xs (closest to the centre) to confirm at least a silver.
Read: Exclusive: I would rate Thomas Cup win as biggest in Indian badminton, says coach Vimal Kumar
India had begun their campaign with a 235-229 win over Italy in the round of 16 in the men's compound section. In the women's compound team event, the Indians, who got a bye into the quarterfinals, started off defeating Chinese Taipei 228-226. But in the semifinal, they lost to Korea 228-230.
PTI
