Indian Sports Wrap, August 9: Yadav’s bronze only bright spot as Indian compound archers flop at World Games
ARCHERY
Yadav bags bronze at World Games in disappointing day
Youngster Rishabh Yadav’s bronze medal was the saving grace on a disappointing day for Indian compound archers at the World Games here Saturday as the top-seeded mixed team crashed out in the opening round.
None of the women contenders could make it to the podium, adding to the gloom.
Yadav, seeded 10th, produced a flawless display to beat senior teammate and multiple World Cup gold medallist Abhishek Verma 149-147 in the men’s individual compound bronze medal match. Verma, who qualified as the fifth seed, trailed by one point after the first end (29-30) as Yadav opened with three perfect 10s.
The second end was tied at 29-all, but Yadav maintained his narrow advantage. Both archers shot three perfect 10s in the third end, before Yadav capitalised on a single-point drop by Verma in the fourth to stretch his lead to 119-117.
Maintaining his composure, the 22-year-old Yadav drilled three more arrows into the 10-ring in the final end to seal the win without dropping a single point in his last nine arrows.
In the semifinals, Yadav had lost 145-147 to American Curtis Lee Broadnax while Verma went down 145-148 to top seed Mike Schloesser of the Netherlands.
India’s challenge in the women’s individual compound section ended in the quarterfinals.
Parneet Kaur, 12th seed, was beaten 140-145 by Colombia’s fourth seed Alejandra Usquiano, while third seed Madhura Dhamangaonkar lost 145-149 to Estonia’s sixth seed Lisell Jaatma.
Mixed team concern
The biggest disappointment, however, came in the mixed compound event. Having topped the qualification round, the Indian pair of Verma and Madhura entered as favourites but succumbed to their familiar nemesis, South Korea, in the very first round.
The duo lost 151-154 to Moon Yeeun and Lee Eunho, bringing curtains on the Indian campaign. No one is competing in the recurve category.
The Koreans edged the first end 38-37 before stepping on the gas with a perfect second end, while the Indians faltered with a 27 to fall four points behind.
The third end was tied 37-37, and although the Indians edged the final end 40-39, it was too late.
The result was particularly alarming given the eight-team draw required just two wins to secure a medal, and with the mixed compound team event set to make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028, the early exit exposed both pressure-handling issues and tactical shortcomings that has ailed the Indian archers at the highest level.
Denmark’s Mathias Fullerton and Sofie Louise Dam Marcussen won the compound mixed team title, beating Mexico 156-155.
This competition set the stage for something much bigger; the debut of the compound mixed team competition at the LA28 Olympic Games in three years, and the Danish compound elite are itching to be a part of it.
“The Olympics opens up so many things for funding and stuff like that,” Fullerton told World Archery website.
“And now we’ve really proved that we can do it. Denmark is a small country, but one of the best there is. So I’m super happy that we got to show it here.”
-PTI
HOCKEY
15th India Junior Women National Championship 2025: Haryana beats Odisha to seal semifinal spot
Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh sealed their spots in the semifinals of the 15th India Junior Women National Championship Division ‘A’ in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.
In the first quarterfinal, Haryana enjoyed a comfortable 4-1 victory over Odisha. The winning side opened the game strong with an early goal by Kajal (2’) followed by another one in the second quarter by Supriya (27’) to extend the lead. Captain Sashi Khasa (36’) too featured on the scoresheet with a goal in the third quarter. In the final quarter, Amisha Ekka (47’) scored a consolation goal for Odisha but Saavi (60’) struck the net again for Haryana to help her side win with a sizable lead.
The second fixture of the day saw Chhattisgarh win 2-1 over Madhya Pradesh in shootout after a 1-1 draw over the four quarters. Yashoda (2’) struck an early goal for Chhattisgarh however, Huda Khan (15’) promptly equalised for MP towards the end of first quarter. The teams battled for possession over the next three quarters but couldn’t find a winning goal. Kajal scored one of her attempts during the shootout for MP, while captain Rukhamani of Chhattisgarh scored both her attempts during the shootout to help her side qualify.
In the third quarterfinal, Jharkhand defeated Punjab 3-1 to progress ahead in the tournament. Pawanpreet Kaur (6’) of Punjab scored the first goal of the game through a penalty corner but its lead only lasted a minute. Sweety Dungdung (7’) scored a field goal for Jharkhand to equalise followed by goals from Shanti Kumari (22’) and Roshni Aind (46’) to seal the victory.
The final fixture of the day saw Uttar Pradesh celebrate a 2-1 win over Maharashtra. After an extremely close and goalless first half, Sallu Pukhrambam (36’) scored the opening goal for Uttar Pradesh in the third quarter. However, moments later, Maharashtra’s Diksha Nitin Shinde (45’) levelled the game again through a field goal. In the final quarter, Rashmi Patel (55’) scored the winning goal through a penalty corner for Uttar Pradesh.
Results
Haryana defeated Odisha 4-1 in QF 1
Chhattisgarh defeated Madhya Pradesh 2-1 in shootout after a 1-1 draw in QF2
Jharkhand defeated Punjab 3-1 in QF3
Uttar Pradesh defeated Maharashtra 2-1 in QF4
– Team Sportstar
TENNIS
ITF: Mukund loses to Erel in semifinals
Yanki Erel of Turkey beat S Mukund 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals of the $30,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday.
In the $100,000 Challenger in Chicago, USA, Dhakshineswar in partnership with Cleeve Harper went down in two tie-beraks to Mac Kiger and Ryan Seggerman in the doubles semifinals.
The Indo-American pair got 30 ATP points and $1,730.
The results:
$100,000 Challenger, Chicago, USA
Doubles (semifinals): Mac Kiger & Ryan Seggerman (USA) bt Cleeve Harper (Can) & Dhakshineswar Suresh 7-6(3), 7-6(5).
€91,250 Challenger, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland
Doubles (semifinals): Thijmen Loof (Ned) & Arthur Reymond (Fra) bt Prajwal Dev & Nitin Kumar Sinha 6-2, 5-7, [10-7].
$30,000 ITF men, Bali, Indonesia
Singles (semifinals): Yanki Erel (Tur) bt S Mukund 6-2, 6-3.
$60,000 ITF women, Amstetten, Austria
Doubles (semifinals): Dalila Jakupovic & Nika Radisic (Slo) bt Michaela Bayerlova (Cze) & Riya Bhatia 6-4, 6-1; Quarterfinals: Bayerlova & Riya bt Enola Chiesa & Verena Meliss (Ita) 4-6, 6-2, [11-9].
$30,000 ITF women, Roehampton, Britain
Doubles (semifinals): Naiktha Bains (GBR) & Rutuja Bhosale bt Hiromi
Abe & Akiko Omae (Jpn) 5-7, 6-0, [10-7].
– Kamesh Srinivasan
GOLF
Diksha makes late recovery, lies 10th after first round in London
Indian golfer Diksha Dagar recovered from a double bogey on her second nine with two late birdies in the last four holes to finish with 3-under 70 on the opening day of the PIF London Championship.
She was Tied-10th at the Ladies European Tour event at the Par-73 course in the Ladies European Tour event.
Aditi Ashok (73) was T-37, Pranavi Urs (75) T-67 and Avani Prashanth (76) was T-75.
Aditi had four birdies and as many bogeys, while Pranavi had five birdies, three bogeys and two double bogeys in a 2-over 75. Avani parred her entire front nine and had one birdie against four bogeys in the 76.
– PTI