The Indian compound women’s team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Madhura Dhamangaonkar, and Pragati clinched the gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 1 by narrowly defeating the USA 233-232 on Saturday. This win marked India’s first medal in the season-opening event. Despite this success, the overall performance of the Indian contingent was disappointing, with both recurve and men’s compound archers failing to secure podium finishes.
India had a chance to increase their medal count with the compound mixed team of Ojas Deotale and Pragati competing for the bronze medal later in the day. However, none of the recurve archers, including former Olympians Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das, Dhiraj Bommadevara, and Deepika Kumari, progressed to the medal rounds. Atanu Das and Dhiraj reached the pre-quarterfinals at best before being eliminated. The men’s recurve team, seeded tenth, exited in the opening round after a loss to Spain, while the women’s team was defeated by Turkey in the quarterfinals.
In individual events, Deepika Kumari was eliminated in the second round of the women’s recurve competition. Ankita Bhakat, Simranjeet Kaur, and Kumkum Mohod advanced one round further but were knocked out in the third round. Dhiraj and Kumkum, competing as a mixed team, also faced an early exit, losing to Brazil in the opening round.
The women’s compound team final was a closely contested match. Despite trailing behind the USA after the second and third ends, India managed to secure victory by delivering six perfect arrows in the final end, winning by a single point. The Indian team started strong with a near-perfect 59 in the opening end but faced a setback in the second end, allowing the USA to take a three-point lead. However, they closed the gap with another 59 in the third end and maintained their composure to clinch 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 indicates the need for adjustments as Indian archery gears up for the upcoming season.