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Top Indian compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam clinched a gold medal at the Lancaster Archery Classic in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. The World No. 4 became the first Indian archer to win an indoor tournament on Monday (January 31).
The 25-year-old defeated Paige Pearce of USA when the scoreboard read 131-129 in the final match of the women’s open pro category. Meanwhile, archer Ella Gibson bagged a third place finish on her debut at the Lancaster Archery Classic.
Jyothi was ranked second in the qualification round after scoring a 653/660. The Indian compound archer was tied with Gibson for 653 points during the qualification round.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam in semis against Ella Gibson:
Jyothi Surekha Vennam was up against Ella Gibson in the semi-finals of the archery tournament. Jyothi scored 33-31 in the first round before drawing in the second and third rounds with 33-33 and 32-32 respectively.
However, with a two-point lead going into the fourth round, Jyothi and Ella both targeted two 11's (inner X's scored as 11's). The Indian shooter still maintained the lead, shooting an 11 in the third arrow, putting pressure on her opponent. Ella could not match up to the deficit, losing the match to the world no 4.
Jyothi has been in spectacular form in the last few years. India's top-ranked compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam bagged a gold medal in the women's individual compound category at the Asian Archery Championships in Dhaka last year.
In a nerve-wracking final, Jyothi Surekha defeated top seeded and former world champion Oh Yoohyun with a 146-145 scoreline.
She, along with her partner Rishabh Yadav, settled for a silver medal in the compound mixed team event after going down to the Korean pair of Kim Yunhee and Choi Yonghee by a narrow margin of 155-154 in the finals in Dhaka.
Jyothi also scripted history at the Archery World Championships 2021 in Yankton, US, in September last year. She bagged three silver medals in the same edition of the World Championships.
