NAGOYA: On a clear Wednesday morning at the Okazaki Central park in the outskirts of the city, the gold medal was well within sight for the Indian women's compound team. Nagoya witnessed continued rains and as it started going away, India's gold medal count has slowly been increasing.
After two gold medals by Indian women on Tuesday (Shooting in trap and 4x400m relay in athletics), the team of compound archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep did not disappoint.
Beginning their day with a semifinal win over favourites South Korea, they went a step further in the final against China. The trio equalled a world-record score of 238 to defend their gold medal from Hangzhou in 2023. The world record – which is also an Asian, as well as an Asian Games record was earlier written by South Korea in Incheon in 2014.
What makes this gold medal significant is the fact that two of the three compound archers are making their Asian Games debut. Led by their senior Surekha, Chikitha and Prithika have shown their potential.
With the likes of Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur – both accomplished archers – failing to qualify to this event in April, there was going to be pressure on both the youngsters to match the standards set by their seniors. “I think we (women's team) have really worked hard during our camps, even for the past two World Cups, we were as a team working really hard, and we are getting used to each other. No matter what the situation is, we'll be there to support each other, till the very last minute,” Surekha told this daily before leaving for the Asian Games.
But bigger fish is yet to be caught. With the mixed compound archery team of Chikitha and Sahil Jadhav entering the final after beating Thailand (156-155), the prize is not just a gold medal, but a spot in the LA2028 Olympics, where compound archery would make its debut. They will face a formidable South Korea side at 9.15 am IST
More to follow...
