Archery World Cup Stage-2: Parathamesh Jawkar, 19, beats World No.1 to win gold; Jyothi Surekha Vennam-Ojas Deotale win the mixed team title

 

Compound archery is not part of the Olympics, but winning two gold medals at a World Cup augurs well for India’s prospects at the Asian Games later this year.

Teenager Parathamesh Jawkar got the better of World No. 1 Mike Schloesser of the Netherlands to clinch the gold in the men’s individual competition at the World Cup – Stage 2 in Shanghai on Saturday, while Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Deotale pocketed the mixed team title by, beating the top-seeded Koreans. The Indian duo had also emerged on top at the previous World Cup stage in Antalya, Turkey, as well.

But it was the feat of youngster Prathamesh which has given India a good vibe for the future. He had upstaged Koreans Kim Jongho and Choi Yonghee earlier in the competition before beating the Dutch stalwart 149-148 in a high-scoring final. The 19-year-old dropped just one point from 15 arrows against the two-time former world champion. That Schloesser dropped only a couple of points himself attests to the high level both finalists maintained.

“Prathamesh shot so well, and doing so well at such a young age is a good sign for Indian archery,” seasoned coach Purnima Mahto, told The Indian Express from Shanghai. “He had performed well in the matches leading up to the final and gave his best performance today.”

Beating some of the best will also provide a boost ahead of the World Championships in Berlin in July-August.

“Our compound archers have been historically very good. Training with such high-calibre archers means youngsters improve through competition and encouragement. It’s difficult to even make the team. Performances like Prathamesh’s will raise confidence even more. The most impressive aspect of his performance was that he hit 10s whenever required. Our archers can beat anyone in the world on a given day,” Mahto said.

Earlier, Deotale and Jyothi pipped Kim Jongho and Oh Yoohyun 156-155 to clinch successive World Cup gold medals. The contest was neck-and-neck before the Koreans made a slight mistake in the final end for the Indians to seal the win

It is Jyothi’s third gold medal of the 2023 World Cup season, including one in the individual section at Antalya. The archer from Vijayawada has been around for a long time, but has struck a purple patch now. She made an early exit in the individual competition at Shanghai, but made up for it in the mixed-team event. It was Jyothi who scored a perfect 10 in the final end when the match was locked 117-117.

“I have not done anything different of late. Just focusing on my shooting rather than scores, and fortunately, the results have been coming,” Jyothi told The Indian Express from the Chinese city