Indian archers off to modest start in World Cup

On a modest opening day for Indian archers, Commonwealth Games gold-medallists Deepika Kumari and Rahul Banerjee were the only ones to make an impression for the country at the World Cup (Stage I) in the Croatian city of Porec.

Amid dominating display by Korean archers, the eight-member Indian recurve team tried its best to consolidate the position in one of the strongest fields in recent times.

Only Deepika could finish among the top eight in either section. Banerjee was the best Indian man on view, finishing ninth, the Archery Association of India said in a statement.

Korea's Oh Jin Hyek (1359) and Im Dong-Hyun (1352) were the top two with world record holder in the FITA round also, from Korea Kim Woojin, finished fifth (1345).

Banerjee (1334) was ninth, Tarundeep Rai (1325) was 16th, Jayanta Talukdar (1321) was 19th and Viswash (1301) ended 29th.

The Indian team comprising Banerjee, Rai and Talukdar finished fifth (3980) behind Korea, France, the USA and Italy.

The Korean women's team unleashed a newcomer in Jung Dasomi who cornered all the limelight by standing first in three distances and in overall total as well in the individual section. She totalled 1374 points.

Korea also cornered the second and third places. Deepika Kumari (1328) was fifth, Seema Verma, who represented India in the Youth Olympics in Singapore, was 10th (1319).

Olympian L Bombayla Devi (1314) ended 11th and Rimil Buruily (1278) shot much below her standards to sign off 51st. The Indian team comprising Deepika, Seema and Bombayla was second behind Korea with 3961 points.

In the mixed team event, the Indian pair of Banerjee and Deepika Kumari totalled 2662 to be fourth behind Korea, Great Britain and Italy.