The Indian compound women’s team comprising Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Madhura Dhamangaonkar and Pragati secured the gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 1, narrowly defeating the USA 233-232 on Saturday. The victory marked India’s first medal of the season-opening event.
The gold came as a rare positive amid an otherwise disappointing outing for the Indian contingent, with both recurve and men’s compound archers failing to reach the podium. India, however, still had a chance to add to their tally, with the compound mixed team of Ojas Deotale and Pragati set to contest for bronze later in the day.
The results served as a stark reminder of the challenges facing Indian archery ahead of the Asian Games this year. None of the recurve archers, including former Olympians Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Deepika Kumari, progressed to the medal rounds.
At best, Atanu Das and Dhiraj reached the pre-quarterfinals before being eliminated. The men’s recurve team, seeded tenth, exited in the opening round after a straight-sets loss to Spain, while the women’s team cleared their first hurdle but fell to Turkey in the quarterfinals.
In the individual events, Deepika Kumari, India’s most decorated archer, was ousted in the second round of the women’s recurve competition. Ankita Bhakat, Simranjeet Kaur and Kumkum Mohod advanced one round further but bowed out in the third round. Dhiraj and Kumkum, competing as the mixed team, also endured an early exit, losing to Brazil in the opening round.
The women’s compound team final itself was a closely fought contest. India lost their early advantage and trailed 114-117 and 173-174 after the second and third ends respectively. However, they held their nerve in the final end, delivering six perfect arrows to edge past the USA by a single point.
India had begun strongly with a near-perfect 59 in the opening end, conceding just one point to the USA’s 58. A dip in the second end, where they managed only one 10 for a total of 55, allowed the USA to build a three-point cushion. The Indian trio responded with another 59 in the third end to close the gap, before maintaining their composure to seal the gold in the final end.
Among the men’s compound archers, Abhishek Verma and Ojas Deotale reached the pre-quarterfinals, while Jyothi Surekha Vennam exited in the quarterfinals of the women’s individual compound event. The overall performance signals the need for recalibration as Indian archery prepares for the season ahead.
– Ends
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