Indian archer Jyothi Surekha created history by becoming the first-ever Indian woman compound archer to win a medal at the Archery World Cup Final. She clinched the bronze medal with a flawless performance, defeating world number two Ella Gibson of Great Britain 150-145 by shooting 15 perfect arrows.
Jyothi who is also a reigning Asian Games champion, started her campaign with a confident 143-140 win over Alexis Ruiz from the USA in the quarterfinals of the eight-archer tournament.
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Jyothi Surekha in semifinal
In the semifinal, the Indian archer faced world number one Andrea Becerra of Mexico and lost a close match 143-145. Jyothi had taken a one-point lead after the third end at 87-86, but Becerra shot three 10s in the fourth end to move ahead 116-115 and secured her place in the final by winning the fifth end 29-28.
Jyothi Surekha in bronze medal match
After a narrow defeat in the semifinal, Jyothi made a comeback in the bronze medal match. She shot 15 straight 10s over five ends to beat Gibson and finished her campaign on a high note. This was her third appearance at the World Cup Final. In her previous attempts at Tlaxcala in 2022 and Hermosillo in 2023, she was eliminated in the opening round.
Another Indian archer in the women’s compound category, Madhura Dhamangaonkar, lost in the first round to Mariana Bernal of Mexico with a score of 142-145.
In the men’s compound section, Rishabh Yadav is the only Indian participant and is set to face Kim Jongho of South Korea in his opening match. No Indian archer has qualified in the recurve section this time.