India’s Surekha Vennam trumps Colombia’s Sara Lopez 149-146 to win maiden individual World Cup gold after combining with Ojas Deotale to triumph in mixed compound event
India’s Jyothi Surekha Vennam during the archery World Cup at Antalya, Turkey. Pic/Twitter; (right) Ojas Deotale
Indian compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam displayed some flawless shooting as she grabbed individual and mixed team gold medals in the World Cup Stage 1 here on Saturday.
Jyothi and her debutant partner Ojas Deotale narrowly missed a world record when they tamed Chinese Taipei 159-154 in the compound mixed team final to open India’s account with a gold in the morning session.
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World record missed
While Jyothi had all perfect 10s in her eight arrows, the 20-year-old Deotale missed the centre once, in the final end when he shot a nine. The Indian duo missed the world record score of 160/160 by just one point.
This was also India’s second ever World Cup gold medal in the mixed compound team event. Jyothi and veteran Abhishek Verma had clinched their maiden gold in World Cup 3 in Paris last year.
Returning in the afternoon session, the 2021 World Championship silver medallist Jyothi clinched her maiden individual gold at the showpiece with a one-sided 149-146 win over Sara Lopez of Colombia.
The win avenged Jyothi’s Yankton World Championship 2021 defeat when she lost to the Colombian opponent in the final 144-146.
Didn’t look inexperienced
Despite the absence of India’s multiple World Cup winner Verma, who failed to make the cut from the national trials, the new-look Indian pair hardly looked short on experience and hit the centre an incredible 15 times from 16 arrows to defeat their 12th-seeded rivals in a lopsided final.
The second seeded Indian duo drilled 15 perfect 10s, of which 12 times they hit the X (closer to the centre).
The second end was a fairytale affair as the Indians hit the X on all their four attempts to make it 80-76 in favour of them.
There was no stopping Jyothi and Deotale who continued their perfect shooting to race to a 120-116 lead in the penultimate end. It was just in the final end Deotale capped a nine to miss a world record by a solitary point.
“We almost got it, but dropped a nine, so we will try it next time, for sure,” Deotale said.
The youngster, however, said the world record was not going through his mind.
“That was my mistake and I did something wrong, that’s why it was a nine.”
Excited at the title win, Jyothi said: “We had a great start with mix team gold so we’re hoping we have a very good year.”
Also Read: Indian men’s recurve team storm into World Cup final
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