India claimed three medals in the Stage 3 of the recently concluded Archery World Cup in Paris and is now placed second on the Archery World Cup 2022 medals table.
Archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Abhishek Verma won the Compound Mixed Team gold medal at the World Cup Stage 3 in Paris, the first for an Indian pair in that category at a World Cup. The Indian pair started the final with a perfect first end to lead 40-37. But the French pair of Sophie Dodemont and Jean Philippe Boulch reduced the gap to one point after the second end. The third end was a tie with the score 115-114 in favour of the Indians. While the French duo hit two 9s, Abhishek shot a perfect 10 and Jyothi scored a 9 to increase the lead to two. The French pair then shot a 9 and a 8. Replying to this, both Indian archers hit 9s to win gold in the event.
Jyothi, on the other hand, also won the silver in the Individual event. Against Ella Gibson, the 25-year old archer tied with her opponent at 148-148. The final shoot-off saw Gibson finishing with an inner 10 while Jyothi’s arrow landed on the boundary of the outer 10 circle.
The third medal for India was won in the Women’s Recurve Team event. The team comprising of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Simranjeet Kaur won silver. They lost 1-5 in the final to Chinese Taipei, comprising Rio 2016 Olympics bronze medallist Lei Chien-Ying, Peng Chia-Mao and Kuo Tzu Ying.
South Korea leads the medal table of the Archery World Cup 2022 with 6 gold medals. India is now placed second with 4 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze. Great Britain follows India with 4 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. The fourth stage of the World Cup will be held in from July 18 to 24. The Final will take place in Mexico In October.
While returning to India, the team got a warm welcome on board. The pilot and the crew mentioned India’s achievement at the World Cup in front of other passengers and thanked for giving them moments to cherish.