On June 25, Abhishek Verma and world No. 3 women’s compound archer Jyothi Surekha won India’s first gold medal at Stage 3 of the Archery World Cup 2022 in Paris.
Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam defeated the French pair of Sophie Dodemont and Jean Philippe Boulch by 152-149 in the compound mixed team final to secure the first position.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam won silver in compound women’s individual finals
Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Sophie Dodemont met again later in the day in the compound women’s individual semi-final, which the Indian won by 147-145. But she lost to world No. 6 Ella Gibson of Great Britain in the final. Both shooters were tied at 148 each after the last set. However, Jyothi Surekha, lost the shoot-off and settled for silver.
The Indian pair took a 40-37 lead in the first set of the compound mixed team final against the local duo of Sophie Dodemont and Jean Philippe Boulch. However, the opposition cut the lead to one point at the half, trailing the Indians 76-75.
Both maintained one point lead at the end
Abhishek and Jyothi maintained their one-point lead at the end of the third set. Abhishek Verma, the Asian Games gold medalist, hit a perfect 10 with his first arrow in the final set, while the French pair hit 9s and 8. Jyothi Surekha Vennam scored 9s to help India win the gold medal.
This was Abhishek Verma’s third Archery World Cup gold medal this season. He had won the men’s compound team events in Turkey and South Korea early in the year.
To enter the final, the Indian pair defeated Estonia in the semi-finals after getting the better of El Salvador in the quarter-finals.
