Shanghai, Recurve archer Simranjeet Kaur and compound shooter Sahil Jadhav emerged as India’s surprise standout performers in an otherwise patchy campaign, staying on course for their maiden Archery World Cup medals here on Friday
Asian Games team bronze medallist Simranjeet, who narrowly missed a place in the Indian women’s team after finishing three points behind Deepika Kumari in the qualification round, made the most of her individual opportunity by storming into the semifinals at the Stage 2 of the World Cup.
The 27-year-old from Haryana defeated Taiwanese teenager Fong You Jhu 6-0 in straight sets to move within one win of her maiden World Cup medal.
Fong had earlier stunned India’s top-ranked archer Ankita Bhakat in the second round.
Simranjeet was at her consistent best, dropping just six points from nine arrows against the 19-year-old from Chinese Taipei in the quarters.
She now faces the toughest test of her career against world No. 1 Kang Chaeyoung of South Korea in the semifinals. Even if she loses, she will still have a chance to secure bronze through the playoff.
India’s experienced campaigner Deepika Kumari and teenager Kumkum Mohod reached the pre-quarterfinals before running into stronger opponents.
Deepika lost to familiar South Korean rival Chaeyoung, the reigning world champion and Tokyo Olympics team gold medallist, while Kumkum went down to Mexican veteran Alejandra Valencia, a two-time Olympic team bronze medallist.
In the men’s recurve section, Dhiraj Bommadevara was the best among the Indians, reaching the pre-quarterfinals before suffering a 0-6 defeat to Frenchman Jean-Charles Valladont.
Valladont produced two perfect rounds in a dominant display.
Dhiraj had an opportunity to bounce back in the second set after the Frenchman slipped to 25 with two 8s and a 9 following a perfect 30 in the opening set.
But the Indian himself faltered with a 24 after shooting into the seven-ring.
Valladont then sealed the contest with another perfect 30-27 set.
Among the other Indians, veteran Tarundeep Rai lost to Korea’s Seo Mingi in the third round, while Yashdeep Bhoge was outclassed by former Olympic champion Mete Gazoz of Turkey in straight sets in the second round.
Gazoz later went on to eliminate five-time Olympic gold medallist Kim Woojin to enter the semifinals.
Former India No. 1 Atanu Das endured the poorest outing among the Indian men, crashing out in the opening round against unfancied Mohammad Mishad Prodhan of Bangladesh.
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The compound section, traditionally India’s strength, had earlier turned into a major disappointment as none of the Indian teams could reach the medal rounds.
India failed to make the podium in men’s, women’s and mixed team events, raising concerns ahead of the Asian Games in less than four months time.
After the team setbacks, all hopes rested on the individual competitions where Sahil emerged as the lone Indian left in medal contention.
The 25-year-old, who made his World Cup debut only last month in Puebla, Mexico, advanced to the men’s compound semifinals after edging Austria’s Nico Wiener in a gripping shoot-off.
The match remained neck-and-neck throughout, with both archers dropping just three points across 15 arrows.
After identical perfect opening rounds, Sahil moved ahead by one point with another flawless second end. Wiener drew level at 88-all in the third after Sahil dropped two points.
Both shot 29 in the fourth end and followed it up with perfect 30s in the final round to force a shoot-off. Sahil then held his nerve brilliantly, clinching it 10-9 with another perfect arrow.
Sahil, now one win away from a maiden World Cup medal, will face France’s Nicolas Girard in the semifinals.
Seeded directly into the third round after finishing eighth in qualification, he defeated experienced teammate Abhishek Verma 149-147 in the round of 32 and then beat Germany’s Sven Fluss 149-146 in the pre-quarterfinals.
Kushal Dalal too showed promise before bowing out in heartbreaking fashion in the quarterfinals.
He lost to Denmark’s Martin Damsbo 147-147 in a shoot-off decided by the arrow closest to the centre.
Former world champion Ojas Deotale, India’s top-ranked compound archer in qualification with a seventh-place finish, disappointed with a first-round exit after losing 146-150 to Estonia’s Robin Jaatma.
In the women’s compound section, former world champion Aditi Swami also suffered a narrow shoot-off defeat in the quarterfinals against Estonia’s Lisell Jaatma 147-147 .
Like Kushal, Aditi lost on the closest-arrow rule despite both archers shooting perfect 10s in the shoot-off.
Lisell had earlier shocked multiple World Cup medallist Jyothi Surekha Vennam, while the other Indians Madhura Dhamangaonkar and Pragati exited in the third round.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
