India's Archery Setback: World Cup Hopes Dim as Teams Stumble

India's archery teams faced early exits in the Archery World Cup Stage 4. The women's recurve squad, coached by Rahul Banerjee, lost to France despite a strong start, while the men's team fell to Brazil. With low qualifying ranks, hopes now rest on the mixed team events.

India's archery teams faced an unexpected early exit in the Archery World Cup Stage 4 events, marking a disappointing start to their campaign. Both the recurve men's and women's teams were eliminated in their opening-round matches on Thursday.

Under the guidance of former Commonwealth Games champion Rahul Banerjee, the women's team experienced a disheartening defeat against lower-seeded France, despite initially leading 3-1. The trio of Ankita Bhakat, Deepika Kumari, and debutant Gatha Khadake struggled under pressure, losing 3-5.

The men's team, seeded ninth, also saw a premature exit against eighth-seeded Brazil, with Dhiraj Bommadevara, Rahul Singh, and Neeraj Chauhan falling short at 2-6. With low individual rankings, the team's hopes hinge on their performance in the mixed and individual events.