Archery world cup: Archers make final, assured of medal

Paris, June 23

India’s recurve archers, who had a nightmarish qualification round in the women’s event, bounced back strongly to storm into the final, confirming their first medal at the ongoing World Cup Stage 3 here today.

A day after all of them slipped out of the top-30 in the qualifying round to get a lowly 13th seeding, the trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Simranjeet Kaur beat Ukraine, Great Britain and Turkey en route the summit clash. In the final on Sunday, they will be up against Chinese Taipei. India began by eliminating fourth-seeded Ukraine 5-1 (57-53 57-54 55-55). Against Great Britain in the quarterfinals, they dropped just four points to down their opponents 6-0 (59-51 59-51 58-50). In the semifinals, they eked out a 5-3 (56-51 57-56 54-55 55-55) win over Turkey. Star compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam also advanced into the semis of the women’s individual section.