Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara fell agonisingly short of writing history with India's first-ever Olympic medal in archery. They lost to Casey Kaufhold and Brady Ellison of the USA in the bronze medal match 2-6 on Friday. Ankita and Dhiraj were the first archers to compete in an Olympic medal match in India's 36-year-old history.

The first set was close, but the USA pair drew first blood with a 38-37 win. It was Ankita's 7-pointer at the beginning of the set that cost India.

The 26-year-old Kolkata woman succumbed to pressure in the medal match as her first arrow in the second set was also a low 7. Despite an 8-pointer from Casey, a double 10 from Brady was enough to give USA a 4-0 lead.

The Indian pair came back strongly in the third set courtesy a combination of 10, 9 and 9, 10 from Dhiraj. Casey once again proved the weak link for USA as she shot 7 and 8 in this set.

In the decider, Ankita once again faltered with a double 8. Dhiraj's 9 and 10 were not enough as Brady and Casey shot 10, 9 and 9, 9 to win the fourth set 37-35 to win the bronze medal.

Earlier in the day, Ankita and Dhiraj became the first archers to enter the semi-finals at the Olympics. They came second-best against two-time Olympic finalists Korean pair Siheye Lim and Wo Jin Kim.

The Indian pair got off to a great start against the Korean pair by taking the first set 36-38 to take a 2-0 lead in the four-set affair but the Koreans made a strong comeback strongly in the second set, taking advantage of weak 8-pointer from Ankita. The second set went to Korea 38-35.

In the quarterfinal, India won 38-37 38-38 36-37 37-36 against Spain.

Ankita, the 26-year-old Kolkatan, and young Dhiraj took the first set 38-37 to take a 2-0 lead with the duo firing two 10s and two 9s.

The fighting Spanish team of Elia Canales and Pablo Acha Gonzalez matched India in the second set by tying the scores at 38-all to share the points.

India's 3-1 advantage was neutralised in the third set following a below par 36, courtesy a poor shot which fetched the team an '8'.

However, in the fourth and last set, the Indians held their nerves to win the nerve-wracking contest 37-36 and notch two full points and secure a semifinal spot, their best-ever showing in the quadrennial showpiece.

Earlier, the Indian recurve mixed team had produced an excellent performance to rally past Indonesia and enter the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics here on Friday.

The Indians notched a 5-1 (37-36 38-38 38-37) win over their Indonesian opponents Diananda Choirunisa and Arif Pangestu.

Dhiraj and Ankita consistently shot 9s and 10s.

However, Ankita upped her game, shooting 10s in her last three attempts to take the pair into the last eight stage.

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