India won two gold medals; however, Stage 1 of the Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey turned out to be a mediocre outing for the Indian archers.
The Compound Men’s team comprising Abhishek Verma, Aman Saini and Rajat Chauhan, clinched gold after beating France by 232-230 in the final. The Indian team, seeded ninth, had earlier beaten the top-seeded Turkey 235-233 in the quarterfinals before beating Great Britain 236-235 in the semifinals.
The Indian duo of Tarundeep Rai and Ridhi won the Recurve Mixed Team gold medal at the event. The pair came from behind twice before beating Britons Bryony Pitman and Alex Wise through a shootoff by 18-17.
India’s Mixed Compound Team of Abhishek Verma and Muskan Kirar made it to the bronze medal match but lost against Croatia’s Amanda Mlinaric, Domagoj Buden by 157-156.
These three were the only medal matches India could manage at the World Cup Stage 1. Indian team psychologist, Mreenal Chakraborty said, “Our players have the ability to perform far better. But this team comprises of many new players who are not experienced in maintaining the pressure of international tournaments. We have to work together and synchronize certain technical aspects- both physical and psychological. We will keep these things in mind in the next two stages of World Cup and our ultimate target is to shine at Asian Games 2022.”
