India achieved one of their biggest victories in archery as the Indian men’s recurve team of Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Jadhav stunned reigning Olympic champions South Korea to clinch the Archery World Cup gold medal after 14 years at the ongoing World Cup Stage 1 in Shanghai on April 28. This was the first time India defeated South Korea in the World Cup final. Now, India's chances to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics have increased.
India claimed a 5-1 (57-57, 57-55, 55-53) victory over the South Koreans without dropping a set. This is India’s fifth gold at the ongoing event. On the other side, the Indian mixed team of Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj also played well against Alejandra Valencia and Matias Grande of Mexico 6-0 (35-31, 38-35, 39-37) to win bronze.
No one can doubt our ability to defeat them: Rahul Banerjee
"The nerves always kick in when Korea is in the final. But now, no one can doubt our ability to defeat them," said former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Rahul Banerjee, who is a member of the Shanghai 2010 triumph.
"They have been showing perfect rhythm right from the qualifying round and it's definitely one of the biggest wins in archery. They will now have to hold on to this momentum till Paris," he added.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam Hits Hat-Trick Of Gold
On April 27, Indian archers also won all the team events in the compound category. They earned gold medals in the men’s, women’s and mixed teams.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam, who is the current champion at the Asian Games, won another gold medal in the women's compound individual category. Meanwhile, Priyansh won his first World Cup silver in the men's individual compound category. So far, India have won five gold medals and one silver medal in this competition.
Deepika Kumari, who used to be ranked number one in the world, is also hoping to win a gold medal. She will compete against a Korean archer in the semifinals of the women's recurve individual category in the afternoon session on April 28.
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