Teenage archers Kirti Sharma and Prithika Pradeep kept India’s medal hopes alive by advancing to the semifinals in their respective events at the Archery World Cup Stage 4 in Madrid on Friday. However, senior stars Dhiraj Bommadevara and Jyothi Surekha Vennam bowed out of the competition.
Kirti Sharma Stuns World No. 11
Competing in her debut World Cup season, 19-year-old Kirti Sharma produced the biggest result of her career by upsetting World No. 11 Elia Canales of Spain 6-2 in the women’s recurve quarterfinals. Kirti recovered from losing the opening set 27-29 to win the next three sets 29-26, 27-26, and 28-26, booking a semifinal clash against Turkey’s Elif Gokkir.
Earlier, Kirti began her campaign from the round of 32 by defeating Germany’s double Olympic medallist Michelle Kroppen 6-2, opening with a perfect end of three 10s. She then edged Chinese Taipei’s Li Tsai-Chi 6-4 in the pre-quarterfinals, holding her nerve in a deciding set that ended 28-28, progressing by virtue of more set points.
Prithika Pradeep Eyes Maiden Medal
Prithika Pradeep moved within one win of her first World Cup medal in the women’s compound section. The 19-year-old defeated Spain’s Andrea Munoz 140-135 in the quarterfinals after earlier edging South Korea’s Park Jungyoon 145-144 and USA’s Liko Arreola 147-146. She will face Malaysia’s Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh in the semifinals.
Both archers are also in contention for double medals. Prithika, along with Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Chikitha Taniparthi, has already confirmed a medal by advancing to the women’s compound team event final. Kirti will compete for a bronze in the recurve mixed team event with Dhiraj Bommadevara on Sunday.
Senior Stars Exit
India’s No. 1 male archer Dhiraj Bommadevara suffered a heartbreaking quarterfinal exit in the men’s recurve section. Despite qualifying second behind Korea’s Kim Woojin and entering as a favourite after winning his maiden World Cup gold in Antalya last month, Dhiraj lost to Germany’s Leon Zemella 5-6 in a shoot-off. After leading 5-3, he faltered in the fifth set with a 26, allowing Zemella to force a shoot-off with a perfect 30. In the one-arrow decider, Zemella shot a nine while Dhiraj’s arrow landed in the eight-ring.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam, a triple Asian Games gold medallist, also exited after a lean run. She defeated fourth seed Wei Fangyao of China 148-146 in the opening round but lost her pre-quarterfinal 146-147 to Turkey’s Hazal Burun.
Medal Prospects
India’s medal hopes now rest on the teenagers. Kirti will aim to secure a spot in the women’s recurve final, while Prithika seeks her maiden World Cup medal in compound. The recurve mixed team of Dhiraj and Kirti will also fight for bronze on Sunday.
