India's No. 4 Curse In Olympics Continues In Paris, Indian Archers Lose to USA in Bronze Medal Match

The Number Four curse has struck India once again as Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat have lost in Archery Mixed Team Bronze medal against USA. It is another heartbreak for India at Paris Olympics as they have once again missed out on a medal at Olympics by just a whisker. 

Varied emotions pervaded the Indian archery camp after the country's mixed team pair missed a historic bronze following loss to the USA, with Dhiraj Bommadevara saying that while making the semifinals for the first time was historic, losing the medal made him feel despondent.

India achieved a historic first in archery when the mixed team pair of Dhiraj and Ankita Bhakat entered the last-four round for the first time in nine Olympic appearances, only to lose to powerhouse South Korea and then unexpectedly go down to the USA in the bronze medal play-off.

"Of course, it feels very sad when you're in fourth place, one step behind the medal. But we're also thinking in a way that we haven't come in fourth till date.

Earlier in the semifinal match against Korea, Dhiraj and Ankita lost 38-36 35-38 37-38 38-39 to their South Korean opponents Lim Sihyeon and Kim Woo-jin.

The duo, however, still has a chance of ending India's 36-year wait for an Olympic medal in archery. They will now compete in the bronze medal playoff in about an hour's time.

It was a poor start by Lim, who slipped to 8-point red ring and Kim also missed a 10, as India responded strongly with two 10s by Dhiraj while Ankita remained consistent with two 9s to take the opening set advantage against the world no.1 combination.

But the Koreans made a strong comeback with Kim drilling in two 10s to start the second set as Ankita dropped two points to begin with. The Koreans took the second set with a three-point margin and drew level The Koreans continued in the same vein in the next two sets.