Archery World Cup 2024: Jyothi, Verma enter compound mixed team final; Indians eye four gold medals

The compound mixed team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Abhishek Verma secured a place in the final of the Archery World Cup in Shanghai on Friday, guaranteeing India’s fourth medal. The world No. 2 Indian team defeated their Mexican opponents Andrea Becerra and Lot Maximo Mendez Ortiz by 155-151 in the semifinal, dropping just five points. They will compete against a lower-ranked Estonian team in the final on Saturday. Jyothi is also a member of the women’s compound team, which previously qualified for the final on Wednesday. 

Furthermore, Jyothi has reached the semi-final of the individual section, placing her in contention for a hat-trick of top podium finishes. Indian archers have qualified for four finals, all in the team events, and two medals in the compound individual events, where Jyothi and Priyansh have made the semifinals. The four events in which Indian teams have made the gold-medal round are compound men’s, women’s, mixed categories and men’s recurve. 

The second-seeded Indian pair of Jyothi and Verma received an opening round bye and started by producing a flawless 160 out of 160 to beat the lower-ranked Australian pair of Georgina Graham and Brandon Hawes by eight points. Next up, the 10th-ranked Luxembourg team of Mariya Shkolna and Gilles Seywert were also defeated by the Indian pair, which dropped just five points from 16 arrows to storm into the semifinals with a 155-151 win. In the semifinal, the Indians started on the back foot after Andrea and Mendez Ortiz capped three 10s and one nine to take the opening end 39-38.

However, the Mexicans slipped in the next set of arrows, allowing Jyothi and Verma to snatch the lead by dropping just one point. The Indians then extended their lead by three points in the penultimate round after another slip-up by the Mexicans. Jyothi and Verma sealed the victory with a perfect 40 in the fourth end.