Shanghai [China], April 27 : India made a strong start to their Archery World Cup in Shangai, securing three gold medals in the compound archery category on Saturday, with the men's and women's team and the mixed team competitions bringing in laurels for the country.
First, it was the women's compound archery team consisting of Jyothi Surekha, Aditi Goswami and Parneet that made the country proud with a gold medal by beating Italy 236-226 in a tightly-contested match for the top prize.
"Bulls-eye!! The Women's Compound Team of Jyothi, Aditi and Parneet win Gold at the #Archery World Cup - Stage 1, defeating Italy 236-226. Congratulations, team! #IndianArchery," tweeted Sports Authority of India (SAI) Media.
https://twitter.com/Media_SAI/status/1784075411149795448
India got its second medal in the compound division when the men's team consisting of Abhishek Verma, Prathmesh Fuge and Priyansh beat the Netherlands 238-231 in another well-fought gold medal match.
"A two-fer in the Compound Division! #Archery The Men's Compound team of Abhishek, Prathmesh and Priyansh defeat Netherlands 238-231 to take the gold! A significant day for Indian archers! #IndianArchery," tweeted SAI Media.
https://twitter.com/Media_SAI/status/1784081184881819907
The hat-trick of wins in the compound division was completed and the tricolour shined bright as the mixed team of Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha beat Estonia by one point (158-157) in a thrilling gold medal clash, bringing to India its third overall medal in the competition as well.
"Third Gold Medal for team India! at the #Archery World Cup Stage 1 The Compound Mixed Team of Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam defeated Estonia 158-157 to win 3rd #Gold for the country. Domination in Shanghai!," tweeted SAI Media.
https://twitter.com/Media_SAI/status/1784086255434600625
Team India continued its domination in the compound category as Deepika Kumari handed a 120-119 loss to Estonia's Meeri-Marita Paas in the semifinals, moving to the finals.
The Indian men's recurve archery team of Tarundeep Rai, Dhiraj Bommadevara and Pravin Jadhav secured a berth in the finals at the ongoing Archery World Cup in Shanghai on Thursday.
They beat Italy 5-1 to set up a title clash with South Korea, which is scheduled for Sunday.
The top-seeded South Korean team will feature Tokyo Olympic gold medalist trio Kim Woojin, Lee Woo Seok and Kim Je Deok.
As per the Archery Association of India (AAI), the team has improved its world ranking which will help them secure a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics taking place early this year.
Indian women's recurve trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur faced a 3-1 defeat to Mexico in its opening clash.
Archery World Cup's first stage will be held from April 23 to 28 in Shangai while South Korea will be hosting the second leg from May 21 to 26.
Based on the performances in the first two stages of the WC, the team for the third stage, taking place from June 18 to 23, in Antalya will be selected. The third stage of the World Cup will be the final qualification event for recurve archers ahead of the Olympics, taking place from July to August this year.
Indian squad for Archery World Cup Stage 1 and 2
Men's compound: Prathamesh Fuge, Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan, Priyansh
Women's compound: Jyoti Surekha Vennam, Aditi Gopichand Swami, Parneet Kaur, Parneet Kaur
Men's recurve: Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, Pravin Jadhav, Mrinal Chauhan
Women's recurve: Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur, Ankita Bhakat, Komalika Bari.