Jyothi Surekha Vennam Makes History with Bronze at Archery World Cup Final

Nanjing (China) – Indian archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam created history on Saturday by becoming the first Indian woman compound archer to win a medal at the Archery World Cup Final, securing the bronze.

The third-seeded Jyothi delivered a masterclass, defeating second seed Ella Gibson 150-145, shooting perfect tens with all 15 arrows.

The Asian Games champion started her campaign with a confident 143-140 quarterfinal victory over America’s Alexis Ruiz. In a tightly contested semifinal, Jyothi narrowly lost to world No. 1 Andrea Becerra of Mexico, going down 143-145.

Bouncing back with remarkable composure, Jyothi dominated the bronze medal match, scoring 15 consecutive 10s across five ends to outshine Gibson and end the tournament on a high note.

Currently ranked third in the women’s compound category, Jyothi earned her place in the Nanjing individual event through her world ranking. This was her third World Cup Final appearance, following previous participations in Tlaxcala (2022) and Hermosillo (2023).

In the women’s compound event, another Indian archer, Madhura Dhamangaonkar, exited early after a 142-145 loss to Mexico’s Mariana Bernal in the opening round.

On the men’s side, Rishabh Yadav, who earlier clinched the compound mixed team title at Auburndale this year, will face South Korea’s Kim Jongho in the quarterfinal later today. Jyothi and Rishabh, who paired to win the mixed team event at Auburndale, had qualified for Nanjing’s individual events through their rankings.

All participants at the World Cup Final earned their spots either by winning one of the four World Cup stages in Auburndale, Shanghai, Antalya, and Madrid, or via World Cup rankings.

This year, India won 14 medals across the four Archery World Cup stages, including three gold, four silver, and seven bronze, with Madhura Dhamangaonkar securing the country’s only individual gold.

With inputs from IANS