World archery championships 2021: India finish with three silver medals

Indian compound archers ended the meet in Yankton, USA with three silver medals while the recurve contingent returned empty-handed.

2 minBy Rahul Venkat
Ankita Bhakat.
(World Archery)

India’s Ankita Bhakat bowed out in the quarter-finals of the individual women’s recurve event at the World Archery Championships 2021 in Yankton, USA on Sunday.

Ankita Bhakat’s exit also meant India ended with three medals at the Yankton meet.

While the recurve contingent drew blank, Indian compound archers won three silver medals - in the women’s team, the mixed team and women’s individual events. Jyothi Vennam was part of all medal-winning feats.

Ankita Bhakat lost 6-2 to the USA’s Casey Kaufhold in the last eight clash. The American archer eventually won the silver medal after being beaten by South Korea’s Jang Minhee in the final.

The 23-year-old Indian archer lost the first set 30-27 and second set 29-24 after managing to hit just one 10 across both sets.

She hit a perfect 30 in the third set to claw the score back at 4-2 but lost the fourth set 30-27 and conceded the match.

Ankita Bhakat was the only Indian recurve archer, male or female, to reach the individual quarter-finals at the World Archery Championships 2021.

India had also won three medals at the 2019 World Archery Championships - silver in the men’s recurve team, bronze in the women’s compound team and Jyothi Vennam’s bronze in the women’s individual compound.