India has secured at least two medals at the Archery World Championships, with both the men's compound team and the mixed team advancing to their respective finals. The impressive performance took place in Gwangju, Korea.
The men's compound team, consisting of Rishabh Yadav, Aman Saini, and Prathamesh Fuge, displayed resilience and composure throughout the elimination rounds. After receiving a bye in the first round, they faced Australia in the second round, resulting in a 232-232 tie. The Indian team emerged victorious in the shoot-off, with a score of 30-28. In the quarterfinals, they edged past the United States with a score of 234-233 and then defeated Turkey 234-232 in the semi-final. The men's team will now compete against France in the gold medal match.
In the mixed team event, Rishabh Yadav partnered with V. Jyothi Surekha. The duo secured a bye in the first round, followed by wins against Germany (160-152), El Salvador (157-153), and Chinese Taipei (157-155). The Indian mixed team is set to face the Netherlands in the final.
Rishabh Yadav, making his World Championship debut, played a crucial role in both the men's and mixed team events. He secured the eighth spot in the individual qualification round with 709 points. Jyothi Surekha, a seasoned campaigner, brought her experience to the mixed team, having previously won a mixed team silver at the Yankton 2021 World Championships with Abhishek Verma. She ranked third in the qualification round with 707 points.
However, the defending champion Indian women's compound team, including Jyothi Surekha, Parneet Kaur, and Prithika Pradeep, had an early exit, losing to Italy in the second round.
The men's team demonstrated remarkable composure, particularly in close matches. Against Australia, they trailed early but responded with a perfect final end to force a shoot-off. A similar situation occurred against the USA, where they rallied with three consecutive 59s after trailing by a point.