India Blows 3-1 Lead, Loses Recurve Mixed Bronze in Madrid

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Kirti Sharma were in control — until they weren't. The Indian recurve mixed pair built a 3-1 lead over Italy's Roberta Di Francesco and Matteo Borsani on Sunday in Madrid, then watched it evaporate set by set. A shaky third set from India (scoring an 8 and a 9 for a total of 37) let the Italians level at 3-3, and the fourth set was no contest: Di Francesco and Borsani shot a perfect 40 — four 10s — while India managed only 37. Final score: 3-5, no medal.

It was a tough end for Dhiraj specifically. He'd won recurve mixed team gold at World Cup Stage 3 just last month (partnering Kumkum Mohod), but returned from Madrid with nothing. Kirti, 19, also had a rough individual day — she lost her semifinal to Turkey's Elif Gokkir 3-7 in five sets, then dropped the bronze playoff to Korea's Oh Yejin 1-7.

India's overall Stage 4 haul was two medals, both from the compound section on Saturday: a silver for the women's compound team and a bronze for Prithika Pradeep. The recurve program came up completely blank.