Asian Games | Compound archers secure men, women team gold, make it three in a row

Gold medallist Indian women archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Gopichand Swami pose for photos with gold medallist compatriot men archers Ojas Pravin Deotale, Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar and Abhishek Verma, coaches Sergio Pagni and Sanjeeva Singh and others after the Compound Team Archery events at the 19th Asian Games, in Hangzhou, China, on October 5, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The women’s combine emerged triumphant in an edge-of-the-seat thriller while the men’s outfit secured the top prize without fuss as Indian compound archers swept all three gold medals on offer in team events, further bettering their best-ever show at the Asian Games, here on Thursday.

The women’s compound team edged Chinese Taipei by the thinnest of margins, securing the gold medal win by just one point with Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur shooting 60 out of 60 in the final round of a heart-stopping final.

In the afternoon session, the men’s trio of Abhishek Verma, Ojas Deotale and Prathamesh Jawkar downed South Koreans 235-230 to seal their sixth medal in archery.

India’s second gold in archery also assured the country of at least five medals in archery at the ongoing Asian Games. India’s mixed team had won a gold on Wednesday.

For 27-year-old Jyothi this was also a double gold from this edition, having secured the top spot in the podium with Ojas Deotale in the compound mixed team event on Wednesday.

The Vijaywada archer is in line for a hat-trick of gold as she will fight for the Asian Games title, taking on South Korea’s So Chaewon in the compound individual final on Saturday.

India have confirmed at least five medals in archery at the continental showpiece as Deotale and Abhishek Verma are assured of a top-two finish by making it an all-India men’s compound individual final.

India’s previous best show in archery at the Asian Games was in Incheon 2014 where they had claimed one gold, one silver and one bronze.

“We are very happy because this is the first time that we have won a gold medal in the Asian Games in the compound women’s category,” the 27-year-old Jyothi said.

“We are really happy and thankful to the audience who have been cheering for us here and at home watching TV. I have the individual final on Saturday, so I’m looking forward to taking that gold too,” Jyothi said.

In the final, India had a one-point lead after three arrows but Parneet slipped into the red ring with an 8 in the second set of arrows, while Aditi and Jyothi also dropped a point each to trail 54-56 after first end.

Chinese Taipei trio stepped up with three 10s to race to a 86-82 lead after nine-arrow each but Parneet started off with a 10 as they made it all perfect socres while their rivals stumbled with a seven to concede a one-point lead.

Both teams went neck-and-neck in the fourth end that saw 171-all, and the stalemate prevailed in first set of arrows in the decider before their final flourish with three 10s nailed it.

The Indian women’s team began the day pocketing an 11-point win over Hong Kong (231-220) and in the semifinal they were even better, crushing Indonesia by 14 points.

“There was a little nervousness in the match but we just focused on the shots and tried to hold ourselves in as much as possible. We did not focus on the competitors’ shots and just did our best,” said Parneet.

Compound men’s team emulates women’s success

The compound men’s team of Ojas Deotale, Prathamesh Jawkar and Abhishek Verma, who are seeded second, followed the suit of the women’s trio to storm into the final with two lopsided wins.

Veteran Verma dropped four points but that did not matter much as the young duo of Deotale and Jawkar were on a 10-hitting spree to down Bhutan 235-221 in the quarterfinals.

Chinese Taipei were no match to the Indians who once again totalled 235, en route to the final.