Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur Shine in Archery World Cup Semifinals
India's Archery Stars Advance to Semifinals
On July 11 in Madrid, India's Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur secured their places in the semifinals of the compound women's category at the fourth stage of the Archery World Cup this season.
Jyothi, who excelled in the qualification round, triumphed over Turkish archer Hazal Burun with a score of 147-144 in the quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal clash against Korea's Han Seungyeon. Parneet, on the other hand, reached her first World Cup semifinal by narrowly defeating Oznur Cure Girdi from Turkey with a score of 142-141.
The 2023 Asian Champion Parneet had previously not medaled individually outside Asia and missed the first three stages of this year's World Cup circuit held in Florida, Shanghai, and Antalya.
In the qualification round, she scored 702 points, just two shy of her personal best of 704, and is now only two matches away from achieving her first podium finish at the World Cup.
Parneet shared her focus techniques, stating, "I aim to concentrate on three key steps during my shot. When I'm not shooting, I engage in calligraphy or drawing, which has significantly improved my focus," as reported by World Archery.
In the semifinals, Kaur will compete against reigning European Champion Gibson, with the possibility of facing either her teammate Jyothi or Antalya runner-up Han Seungyeon in the final or bronze match.
In the men's individual event, top-seeded archers Rishabh Yadav, Aman Saini, and Priyansh were eliminated in the second round, while Prathamesh Bhalchandra Fuge was knocked out in the first round.
The recurve archery teams for both men and women faced disappointing exits in their opening rounds. The women's team, consisting of Ankita Bhakat, Deepika Kumari, and 15-year-old debutant Gatha Khadake, lost 3-5 to France after starting their campaign from the second round due to their fourth seeding. Meanwhile, the men's team, featuring Dhiraj Bommadevara, Rahul Singh, and Neeraj Chauhan, suffered a 2-6 defeat against Brazil.