NEW DELHI: The agony of heartbreak. That’s what the Women in Blue must’ve felt. They took a shot at history, but their best fell short by a whisker. Such is life!
With a year to go for the Olympic Games, the trio of Deepika Kumari, Rimil Buriuly and Laxmirani Majhi did India proud with a creditable silver-medal finish in the recurve team category of the World Archery Championships in Denmark on Sunday. It was the country’s second medal in as many days after Rajat Chauhan settled for silver in individual compound on Saturday. There could have been one more, but Laxmirani was unable to clinch bronze in individual recurve. Still, it is the nation’s best-ever tally.
Before the current edition, India’s only medal came back in 2011 when the women’s recurve team lost to hosts Italy in the final. The trio of L Bombayla Devi, Chekrovolu Swuro and Deepika had created history by bagging silver.
However, such a result wasn’t a foregone conclusion. Would the ghosts of Turkey 2013 — wherein the compound mixed team of Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam losing the bronze to USA was the only saving grace — return to haunt the players?
The recurve women lost to Russia 4-5 (27-28) in a match that could have gone either way — a single point difference in the tie break gave the latter the title. Sport is cruel that way. Coach Purnima Mahato, however, was very proud of her wards’ spirits. “I am extremely happy with the way the girls fought. They gave it everything they had and more. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. That’s the way it is sometimes. It’s one thing if one shoots poorly, but such a loss is encouraging and heartbreaking at the same time,” she told Express from Copenhagen.
India Results
Recurve (women): Team: Gold medal match: India lost to Russia 4-5 (27-28); Individual: Bronze-medal match: Laxmirani Majhi (Ind) lost to Misun Choi (Kor) 4-6.
Laxmirani too suffered an unlucky miss when she was beaten 4-6 by South Korea’s Misun Choi. Yet, Purnima felt there was no need to dissect the result. “One of Laxmi’s arrows swerved slightly away. It cost her a point. That was all the opponent required. It was a good result, just not good enough for bronze,” she added.
Two pieces of silver is no mean feat for the Tricolour. Yet, mental lapses remain a concern. Can those be ironed out in time for Rio? “Everyone has been undergoing psychological training. It’s important to tackle such problems head-on, but that’s easier said than done,” she signed off.
