Jyothi Surekha Vennam wins historic World Cup Final bronze medal

Nanjing (China): Star Indian archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam scripted history on Saturday by becoming the first Indian woman compound archer to win a medal at the Archery World Cup Final, clinching the bronze.

Third seed Jyothi stunned second seed Ella Gibson 150-145 with a dominating display, shooting tens in all 15 arrows.

The Asian Games champion began her campaign with a confident 143-140 quarterfinal win over Alexis Ruiz of America. In the semifinals, Jyothi narrowly lost to world No. 1 Andrea Becerra of Mexico, falling 143-145 in a closely fought battle.

However, Jyothi bounced back in spectacular fashion during the bronze medal match, firing 15 consecutive 10s over five ends to dominate Gibson and finish her campaign on a high note.

Currently ranked third in the women’s compound category, Jyothi had qualified for the individual event in Nanjing based on her world ranking. This marked her third appearance at the World Cup Final, following previous outings in Tlaxcala (2022) and Hermosillo (2023).

In the women’s compound category, another Indian archer, Madhura Dhamangaonkar, made an early exit after a 142-145 loss to Mexico’s Mariana Bernal in the opening round.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Yadav, who had earlier clinched the compound mixed team title at Auburndale this year, will be in action in the men’s compound event. He will take on South Korea’s Kim Jongho in the quarterfinal later in the day.

Jyothi and Rishabh Yadav, who teamed up to win the compound mixed team event at Auburndale earlier this year, qualified for the individual events at Nanjing through their respective rankings.

All the archers competing at the World Cup Final qualified by either winning one of the four World Cup stages held in Auburndale, Shanghai, Antalya and Madrid or through World Cup rankings.

India won 14 medals, including three gold, four silver and seven bronze from the four Archery World Cup stages this year. However, Madhura Dhamangaonkar won India’s only individual gold.

–IANS