Archery World Cup: Indian expectations increased in the third phase of the archery World Cup due to the performance of Partha Salunkhe

21 -year -old archer of Satara, Maharashtra, surprised the world of archery by defeating two big names in Shanghai. He had defeated Turkish Tokyo Olympic champion Mete Gajoj in the shoot-offs and then two-time Olympic team gold medalist South Korea’s Kim J-Deok by defeating Kim J-Deok in the quarter-finals.

Former young world champion Salunkhin won the bronze medal in his second World Cup. In which he defeated the Silver medalist of Paris Olympics in the playoffs Baptiste AIDS of France.

The most different thing for him was not just his achievement, but his nature and maturity against South Korean archers, which have been considered a staunch rival of India in this game for a long time.

In the semi-finals, Salunkhe returned after falling behind 0-4 against all-time great player Kim Wuzin and equalized the score 4-4. But in the exciting match of five sets, he suffered defeat by a slight margin in the decisive set.

Salunkhe said, ‘My focus was not just on the medal but it was more on the fact that I could practice, can I do it.’

He said, ‘This was the most important to me and could not do so in the final set. I lagged behind there. But it is a part of the game.

Encouraged by Salunkhe’s performance, 41 -year -old veteran Tarundeep Rai, Atanu Das and Dheeraj Bomadevara will also want to return to the podium after losing to the US after losing to the US in a bronze playoffs in Shanghai.

Personally it offers an opportunity to prove themselves for the experienced pair of Charan Rai and Das, who together participated in seven Olympics.

The 2010 Asian Games silver medalist and Rai, who participated in the four Olympics, are still looking for their first individual World Cup medal.

In the women’s category, Deepika Kumari has made a great comeback after becoming a mother. This 30 -year -old former number one and four -time Olympian won a bronze medal in Shanghai but lost to Korean rival Lim Sihyone in the semi -finals.

Deepika lost to Korea’s name Suhion in the quarter -finals of the Paris Olympics.

If she finds a way to challenge the Korean archers, then she can win her first World Cup gold medal since 2021.

In the Shanghai World Cup, India finished second from Korea in a medal table with two gold, one silver and four bronze medals.

The compound class gave India the most success. In this, Madhura Dhamangaonkar made a brilliant comeback and won a personal gold medal while the men’s team of Ojas Devtale, Rishav Yadav and veteran Abhishek Verma also finished first. Compound archer would once again want to contribute to India’s medal table by retaining his magnificent form in Antalya.

Recurve Purush: Dheeraj Bommadevara, Partha Salunkhe, Atanu Das and Tarundeep Rai.

Recurve woman: Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakta, Simranjit Kaur and Anshika Kumari.

Compound men: Abhishek Verma, Rishabh Yadav, Ojas Devatale and Uday Kamboj.

Compound Women: Jyoti Surekha Vennam, Madhura Dhamangaonkar, Chikitha Taniparthi and Aditi Swami.