Jyothi Surekha shoots hat-trick of gold as compound archers bag five medals in World Cup
Shanghai, Apr 27: Asian Games champion Jyothi Surekha Vennam spearheaded India's dominance with a rare hat-trick of gold as compound archers lapped up five medals at the ongoing Archery World Cup Stage 1 here on Saturday.
The world No. 3 Jyothi fought past tournament top seed Andrea Becerra of Mexico in a tight shoot-off finish 146-146 (9*-9) to become the second Indian after Deepika Kumari to secure triple gold medals in a World Cup.
Three-time Olympian and former world No. 1 Deepika had achieved the incredible feat at Paris World Cup Stage 3 in June 2021.
For Jyothi, it also matched her feat at the last year's Hangzhou Asian Games where the 27-year-old Vijayawada archer returned with three gold medals, winning individual, women's team and mixed team events.
Youngster Priyansh capped India's spectacular outing in the compound section, by bagging his maiden World Cup medal in the form of a silver in the men's individual section.
In his second Cup appearance, the 21-year-old found himself up against a formidable opponent in 2021 world champion Nico Wiener, who delivered a flawless performance, scoring a perfect 150 out of a maximum 150.
The 27-year-old Austrian shot all 10s from 15 arrows to edge out the spirited Indian by three points.
In the morning session, India underlined their supremacy in the non-Olympic compound category to make a clean sweep of team events, winning men's team, women's team and mixed team events with Jyothi featuring in two of them.
Jyothi, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur dropped just four points to trounce Italy 236-225 in the women's compound team event to open their account with a gold medal.
The men's team of Abhishek Verma, Priyansh and Prathamesh Fuge then went one step better as they missed just two points en route to defeating Netherlands' Mike Schloesser, Sil Pater and Stef Willems 238-231.
The mixed team completed the sweep when the second-seeded Jyothi and Verma warded off a late resurgence from their Estonian rivals -- Lisell Jaatma and Robin Jaatma -- to win 158-157 in a thrilling finish.
The top seeded women's compound team dropped just four points from 24 arrows to down sixth seeded Italy in the first match of the day.
In the first three ends of six arrows each, Jyothi, Aditi and Parneet missed the perfect 10 only twice to take a handsome 178-171 lead over Marcella Tonioli, Irene Franchini and Elisa Roner.
In the fourth end, the Indians dropped two points but it did not matter much as they nailed the gold with an 11-point margin.
The men's team, who qualified as the fourth seed, put up a near flawless show to defeat their Dutch opponents.
They began with a perfect round of 60 and dropped just two points in the next two ends, before sealing the win with another perfect 60 in the final set of six arrows.
In the compound mixed team event, Jyothi and Abhishek took a three-point lead, starting off with a perfect round of 40.
The three-point drop in the first end proved decisive for Estonian archers who went on to shoot three perfect rounds of 40 each but the Indians held their nerves to seal the issue.
Leading 119-117, the Indian duo needed a minimum score of 39 points out of a maximum 40 in the final end. They did just that to bag the country's third gold.
Jyothi then returned in the afternoon session to become the individual champion as well.
The Indian struggled to get a perfect round in the first three ends as Andrea raced to an 88-87 lead.
Jyothi finally managed a perfect round in the fourth end when she drilled in three 10s with two X (closer to the centre), while Andrea also matched the Indian to retain her one-point lead.
In the fifth round, Andrea faltered under pressure to drop two points, while Jyothi scored a 29 to level it 146-all to force a shoot-off.
Both shot nine-all in the shoot-off but Jyothi's arrow was closer to the inner-ring to seal her third gold.
Medal rounds in the recurve section will be played on Sunday and India are eyeing two gold from the Olympic discipline.
The Indian men's team will take on Olympic champions South Korea in the gold medal clash.
Deepika is in fray for an individual medal and will play her semifinal against South Korean rival in the women's recurve section.
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Rahul Dravid will have to reapply if he wants to continue as head coach after June: Jay Shah
Mumbai, May 10: India head coach Rahul Dravid will have to reapply if he wishes to continue in the job after his tenure ends with next month's T20 World Cup, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has said while making it clear that the new appointment will be for a three-year term.
Dravid, who had a two-year contract originally, was given an extension along with his support staff after the conclusion of the 50-overs World Cup in November last year.
"We will call for applications in the next few days. Rahul Dravid's tenure is coming to an end. He has to reapply if he has to continue. We are looking for a long-term coach, for three years," Shah told select media during an interaction at the BCCI office here on Thursday.
The BCCI secretary said there has been no precedent of having different coaches for different formats but ultimately the decision rests with the Cricket Advisory Committee. The CAC comprises Jatin Paranjape, Ashok Malhotra and Sulakshana Naik.
"There is no precedent of different coaches for different format in Indian cricket. Besides, we have a number of players who are all-format players. There are many common players across formats such as Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma," he said.
"Ultimately, this is the Cricket Advisory Committee's call. I have to implement what they decide," he added.
Shah said even a foreign coach can be considered depending on the CAC's recommendations.
"If the CAC selects a foreign coach, I can't interfere," he added.
The BCCI secretary informed that the vacant post of one national selector is expected to be filled up soon.
"A few interviews for the selector's post have already happened. We will announce it soon," he said.
Greg Barclay's role as the chairman of the International Cricket Council ends later this year but Shah remained non-committal on running for the position.
"Let me be here in BCCI. Let there be speculation. But let me be here (in the BCCI). Am I not doing a good job?" he asked.
"India sending experienced team for T20 World Cup"
Shah said India are sending an experienced team to the T20 World Cup owing to the fact that conditions in the USA are unknown.
"The team is leaving in two batches, those who will be free before (the playoffs) will leave on May 24. The rest of them will leave after the final," he said.
"We have an experienced team; a better team couldn't have been selected. We have selected the best 15 players possible. We have a batting line up till Nos. 8 and 9. We have selected experienced players who can play in all conditions," he added.
Shah rejected the talk that India, England and Australia are in talks to revive the franchise-based competition Champions League T20.
Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins had claimed in a media interaction here last month that the three boards are in talks to revive the competition.
"The Cricket Victoria CEO has not spoken to me about this. No such discussions are taking place. I would have told you had I been a part of any talks," Shah said.
He also said the ICC has not approached BCCI on the topic of creating windows for country-based T20 leagues.
"That is ICC's prerogative. It is a fact that the ICC is not touching the IPL. In fact, they have given it a two-and-a-half month window instead of just about two months, we are grateful to the ICC for that," he said.
Shah said the board will speak to the ICC about hosting the World Test Championship final at a different venue from 2027. The first two editions of Test cricket's summit clash have been organised in England, including the one for the current 2023-25 cycle.
"We have spoken about the ICC for 2027. There are only three main Test centres, India, England and Australia. You cannot hold it in Australia during that window or even in India. Even in Bengaluru, it rains during that time," he said.
