Ojas Deotale’s youthful energy blended seamlessly with Jyothi Surekha Vennam’s skills, securing India’s maiden gold medal in the compound mixed team event and contributing to their best-ever show in archery at the Asian Games, here on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old reigning world champion Deotale dropped a point but a flawless Jyothi made up for it, shooting all perfect scores from her eight arrows to down the second-seeded Korean pair So Chaewon and Joo Jaehoon 159-158.
With this, Indian archers are set to win at least four medals from the ongoing Games, which will better their previous best show at Incheon in 2014 when they bagged a men’s team compound gold, one silver and a bronze.
Playing three back-to-back knockout matches — quarterfinals, semifinals and final — in 140 minutes can be gruelling, but the Indian pair was ice-cool, especially the 27-year-old Jyothi, who excelled in some crucial moments to nail it. That the pair dropped just four points in three matches tells a lot about the authority shown by Deotale and Jyothi.
PM Modi applauds gold medallists: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam on Wednesday for winning a gold medal in the archery competition at the Asian Games. He praised their exceptional skill, precision, and teamwork, which ensured a great result.
“Well done @VJSurekha and Ojas for hitting the bullseye in the Mixed Team Compound event, leading to a perfect podium finish. Their exceptional skill, precision, and teamwork have ensured great results. Congrats to them,” PM Modi said on X.
Thakur lauds archers Jyothi, Pravin: Union Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur congratulated Indian archers Jyothi Vennam Surekha and Pravin Ojas for clinching the gold medal in archery at the ongoing Asian Games. Anurag Thakur praised the Indian pair on his X (formerly twitter) handle.
“RECORD-BREAKING MEDAL FOR INDIA!! Heartiest congratulations to the dynamic archers, @VJSurekha and Ojas Pravin Deotale, for their spectacular performance and victory in the Compound Mixed Team event at #AsianGames2022.
