The world No. 3 archer from Vijayawada emerged victorious in a closely contested shoot-off against tournament top seed Andrea Becerra of Mexico, with a score of 146=146 (9*-9). This remarkable achievement matched her performance at the previous year’s Hangzhou Asian Games, where she won gold medals in the individual, women’s team, and mixed team events.
India demonstrated their dominance in the non-Olympic compound category during the morning session, making a clean sweep of the team events. Jyothi, along with Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur, outclassed Italy 236-225 in the women’s compound team event, dropping only four points.
The men’s team, consisting of Abhishek Verma, Priyansh, and Prathamesh Fuge, performed even better, missing just two points as they defeated the Netherlands 238-231. The mixed team completed the sweep when Jyothi and Verma held off a late surge from their Estonian rivals, Lisell Jaatma and Robin Jaatma, to win 158-157 in a thrilling finish.
In the individual compound event, Jyothi faced a tough challenge from Andrea Becerra. Despite trailing by one point after the first four ends, Jyothi managed a perfect round in the fifth end, while Andrea faltered under pressure. The match ended in a 146-146 tie, forcing a shoot-off. Both archers shot nine-all in the shoot-off, but Jyothi’s arrow was closer to the inner-ring, securing her third gold medal of the tournament.
India’s success extended beyond Jyothi’s achievements, with Priyansh also in contention for an individual medal in the compound segment. The medal rounds in the recurve section will take place on Sunday, and India has high hopes for two gold medals in the Olympic discipline. The Indian men’s team will face Olympic champions South Korea in the gold medal clash, while Deepika Kumari will compete in the semifinals of the women’s recurve section against a South Korean rival.
(Inputs from PTI)
