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India bagged four medals in the Taipei Archery Open 2023 with youngsters Prathamesh Jawkar and Parneet Kaur taking the gold medals in men's and women's compound events, respectively, in Taoyuan on Sunday, December 10.
Prathamesh, who hails from Maharashtra's Buldhana district, ended Dutchman Mike Schlosser's phenomenal run in the tournament, pipping him at 149-148 to finish at the top of the podium. Ahead of the final, Mike didn't drop a single point, shooting four 150s to accumulate 600 points.
Nevertheless, the pressure of the final hit the 29-year-old. Mike missed the target twice in the final, in the second arrow of the first game and the third arrow in the third game. Meanwhile, Prathamesh Jawkar consistently targeted 14 10s in a row only to record 9 in the final shot of the game, though that was sufficient to beat his opponent by a whisker.
“It feels so good, and it’s so special for me. Mikey is the guy I have looked up to for all these years. He is a great player, [but] seeing that his first arrow was not very good really made me relax a little bit," Prathamesh Jawkar said after his thrilling encounter, as quoted by World Archery.
Parneet Kaur gets the better of Jyothi Surekha Vennam to clinch gold
Teenage sensation Parneet Kaur won against senior teammate Jyothi Surekha Vennam 146-145 in the all-Indian women's compound final. Ahead of the fifth and final game, Jyothi was leading the contest at 117-116, but two nines squandered the opportunity to clinch the gold as Parneet recorded 30 (all 10s) to narrowly win the final.
“I am happy with today’s performance. I had a little issue with aiming but I managed it well. I just try to focus as much as I can on my shooting and not think about the match as much. That's how I remain calm," the 18-year-old Kaur said.
India's recurve archers couldn't go the distance, with Jayanta Talukdar exiting in the first round of the men's event and Ankita Bhakat in the second round of the women's event.
