Auburndale (USA), April 13 (IANS) A few days after compound archery was included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the Indian team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Rishabh Yadav claimed the gold medal in the Compound Mixed Team event in the 2025 Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Florida, USA, on Saturday. This was the first compound mixed team medal match of the 2025 Archery World Cup.
The Indian team got the better of the Chinese Taipei pair of Huang I-Jou and Chen Chien-lun 153-151 in a hard-fought gold medal match on Saturday morning.
The Indian pair of former World Cup winner Jyothi Surekha and Rishabh came back after losing the first End, which includes each archer shooting two arrows (four in all in case of mixed doubles), 37-38 as they managed two scores of 9 and two 10s. Their rivals shot two nines and arrows in the inner 10 circle (X).
The Indians lost the second End 38-39 and were trailing 75-77 overall, despite scoring three 10s as an 8 pulled them down. The Chinese Taipei pair shot X,10,10, X to win the End.
In the third End, the Indian pair of Jyothi and Rishabh got the better of the Chinese Taipei pair 39-38 to close the gap to 113-115. The Indians went from strength to strength in the fourth and final End, with scores of 9,10,10, X while the Chinese Taipei pair faltered and could manage scores of 9, 9, 8, X. The Indians won the End 39-36 to win the gold medal match 153-151 and cemented their dominance in this discipline.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Rishabh Yadav were exceptionally precise in the semifinal, too. The Indian pair shot 156 against Spain and Denmark, whose line-up included Indoor World Series Champion Tanja Gellenthien and world number two Mathias Fullerton – and then posted an incredible 159 in the semifinal against Slovenia, just one off a perfect score.
For Yadav, Saturday’s final marks a major milestone: he has yet to win an Archery World Cup medal, as he and powerhouse India build toward LA28.
–IANS
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