Indian archers put up a commendable performance at the 2016 Asia Cup Stage 1 in Bangkok that finished over the weekend. Asian Games bronze medallist Purvasha Shende led the team to a rich haul of 7 medals that included two gold, one silver and four bronze.
Shende herself conquered the field in the compound women’s category, upsetting the second seed Amaya Amparo Cojuangco of Philippines 142-138 for the gold.
Budding Jharkhand archer Swami Indrachand was the other Indian to bring home the gold. He edged past compatriot Jagdish Choudhary 6-4 in the final of the Men’s Recurve event.
The four bronze medals came from four team events – Recurve Men’s, Recurve Mixed, Compound Men’s and Compound Women’s.
In Men’s Team Recurve, the trio of Binod Swansi, Jagdish Choudhary and Pravin Jadhav were blanked 0-6 by eventual winners Indonesia in the semi-finals. But they did well to grab the bronze, beating Iran 6-0. The national junior recurve champion Swansi picked up his second medal from the 2016 Asia Cup as he teamed up with Ankita Bhakat for the Mixed Recurve Team bronze.
The Indians held their nerves in a tense bronze medal contest to see off Russia 5-4 (19-17) in a shoot-off.
In the compound section, Manash Jyoti Changmai, Dingku Singh Pukhrambam and Aman Saini too had to work hard for the bronze as they edged past Chinese Taipei 30-28 in the tie-break after being locked at 227 apiece.
Purvasha Shende, meanwhile, pocketed her second medal of the tournament as she steered the women’s compound team of Khushbu Dhayal and Sorang Yumi to the bronze medal. The Indians came up with a sublime performance to thump Thailand 228-213.
Most of the experienced Indian archers were rested for this tournament ahead of a very busy season. The seniors will be in action this week at the 7th Kahraman Bagatir Archery Tournament in Antalya as part of a preparatory camp for the World Cups beginning on April 24.
