Shanghai: Seasoned archer Deepika Kumari and Parth Salunkhe bagged bronze medals as India finished their campaign with seven medals at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 on Sunday.
In a tense bronze medal match, Deepika defeated Tokyo Olympic team gold medallist Kang Chaeyoung of Korea with a 7-3 scoreline. Her victory marked India’s first medal of the year in the women’s recurve category and her 12th individual World Cup medal. She delivered two outstanding final sets, scoring a perfect 30 and a near-perfect 29, to secure the win.
Deepika was the only non-Korean to reach the women’s recurve semifinals, preventing a Korean sweep by clinching bronze after a 1-7 loss to Paris Olympic champion Lim Sihyeon in the semi-final.
Parth Salunkhe, the reigning U21 world champion, claimed his first World Cup medal in the men’s recurve category. He edged past Paris Olympic medallist Baptiste Addis of France 6-4 in a nail-biting bronze medal match. Parth had earlier put up a strong fight in the semi-final clash against South Korea’s Kim Woo Jin, rallying from two sets down to level the match, but a final-shot 7 in the deciding set saw him fall short 4-6.
In the bronze match, he again entered the final set at 4-4 but held his nerve with back-to-back 10s to seal victory. His win marked India’s second straight medal in the men’s recurve, following Dhiraj’s bronze at the Florida World Cup.
With these two bronze medals in recurve events, India wrapped up the Shanghai World Cup with a total of seven medals: 2 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze.
(IANS)
