40th NTPC National archery championships: Archer Abhishek Verma shines, team Delhi bags gold

Abhishek Verma battled contrasting weather conditions to help Delhi win the men's compound archery final at the 40th NTPC National archery championships. Delhi defeated Andhra Pradesh 230-227 at the Tata Archery Academy campus on Tuesday.

Team Delhi, comprising of Aman Saini and Ritik Chahal, trailed 56-59 after the opening end. The Andhra trio of Kunderu Venkatadri, Manoj Kumar and Thirumu Ganesh Mani Ratnam gave Abhishek and Co a tough time.

Inspirited by the fourth member of the team Kawalpreet Singh, Delhi bettered their game with a perfect score of 60 in the next round. It led to them drawing parity at 116-116 before winning the third and fourth rounds.

“I managed this performance despite jet lag and the hugely different weather conditions. It was cold in the USA and it's hot here. We slipped a bit, but recovered well,” said Abhishek.

The last edition's silver medallist Abhishek helped Delhi secure a come-from-behind victory.

In the women's final, Madhya Pradesh, consisting of Ragini Marko, Muskan Kirar and Srishti Singh, defeated Punjab in a closely-contested final. The Team MP beat Punjab with a scoreline of 232-230 to bag the team championship title.

Compound Archery Team Scorecard at the 40th NTPC National archery championships final:

Team event:

Men: Delhi defeated Andhra Pradesh 230-227 to seal first and second place. Meanwhile, Maharashtra won against Haryana with a scoreline of 232-229 to seal a third-place finish.

Women: Madhya Pradesh defeated Punjab 232-230. The All India Police stunned Jharkhand 226-223 to bag a third place finish at the senior archery championships.

Earlier, Abhishek Verma, Umesh Singh and Aman Saini bagged gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in the men's 2×50m Compound archery event. Meanwhile, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Raginee Marko and Muskan Kirar secured a podium finish at the women's 2×50m Compound archery event.