Recurve men lose thrilling final to US

The fifth-ranked Indian trio of Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar and Rahul Banerjee, after upsetting the Korean applecart in the semifinals, lost their lead to succumb to their US opponents 219-221 in a pressure-filled 24 arrows final on Saturday.

The women’s recurve team finished fourth, while the compound teams came a cropper after being eliminated in early rounds. 

Locked 56-56 after first end of six arrows, the Indian trio took a three-point lead (58-55) in the second end.  However, the American team of Brady Ellison, Joe Fanchin and Jake Kaminsky, bounced back taking advantage of two 8s by the Indians to take the third end 56-54, even as India had a one point advantage (168-167) in overall scores.

In a gripping finish, the Indians gave in to the pressure factor as they shot three 8s to enable their opponents win the final end with a three point lead (54-51) that was enough for them to clinch the title by two points.