India opened their account at the Archery World Cup Stage 4 with a silver medal in the women's compound team event here on Saturday, but the result once again highlighted the team's inability to handle crunch situations.
The trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and 16-year-old debutant Prithika Pradeep, who had topped the qualification round with a total of 2116 points, looked well on course for gold and justify their top-billing when they led 170-169 after the third end.
However, they faltered under pressure at the decisive moment, eventually going down 225-227 to Chinese Taipei.
Both teams were locked at 57-all after the first end, but the Indians raised their game in the second, dropping just two points to take the end 58-56 and open up a slender 115-113 lead.
They still held a narrow advantage despite losing the third end by a point (55-56) after an untimely arrow found the 8-ring.
The gold was well within reach, the Indians simply could not close it out in the fourth and final end.
A wayward 7 in the final-end proved costly, while Chinese Taipei’s trio of Huang I-Jou, Chen Yi-Hsuan and Chiu Yu-Erh held their composure to shoot a match-winning 58.
The Indians, in contrast, could muster only 55 -- an underwhelming effort at a stage where consistency and nerves matter most.
The defeat once again exposed the team's mental frailties in tight finishes and underlined the void left since the departure of reputed compound coach Sergio Pagni after the 2022 Asian Games -- a void that still remains unaddressed.
India, however, remain in the hunt for more medals in the compound section. Jyothi will aim for a hat-trick when she teams up with Rishabh Yadav for the mixed team bronze playoff.
She is also in contention in the individual event along with Parneet Kaur, with both archers slated to compete in their respective semifinals later in the day.
