Ojas, Jyothi stun mighty Koreans, bag successive World Cup gold
Shanghai (PTI): Continuing its dream run, India's compound mixed team duo of Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam on Saturday stunned heavyweights Korea to grab successive World Cup gold medals here.
After winning the World Cup Stage 1 gold in Antalya last month, the pair carried forward its new-found chemistry and shot with composure to pip the top-seeded Korean team 156-155.
Both the Indian duo and the seasoned Korean pair of Kim Jongho and Oh Yoohyun shot identical 39s out of 40 in each of the first three ends.
In the final end the Koreans cracked under pressure as Deotale and Jyothi came up with a 39 again to seal their back-to-back World Cup gold medals.
Having made an early exit in the individual section, Jyothi had a perfect start to the final, even as her 20-year-old partner struggled for a perfect 10.
Ojas, however, complemented well and brought out his best when Jyothi missed the 10 a couple of times, as the duo showed perfect chemistry at the highest level.
Locked 117-117 heading into the final end, Jyothi shot a 10 with her final arrow, while a measurement was needed on Oh Yoohyun's final arrow to confirm the Indians' victory.
"Throughout the World Cup, our co-ordination and shooting process were very good. And in the final too, we focused on our shooting process," Jyothi said.
Jyothi has now made a strong start to the 2023 World Cup season with three gold medals including one in the individual section at Antalya leg.
The Vijayawada archer is now dreaming big with the World Archery Championships in Berlin a couple of months away.
"World Championships are the most important event for us. And winning the gold medals is a big boost to our confidence. We look to continue the momentum," she added.
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MI post 205 for five against DC
New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI): Kuldeep Yadav's artistry was well complemented by young leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam's happy knack of picking wickets before Tilak Varma's attractive half-century took Mumbai Indians to 205 for 5 in an IPL match here on Sunday.
Tilak (59 off 33 balls) was the only MI batter to capitalise on a good start, hitting six fours and three sixes and making amends for his poor scores in some of the earlier games. Naman Dheer (38 not out off 17 balls) then used the long handle to prop up the total.
On a track where stroke-making wasn't very difficult, the two wrist spinners from Uttar Pradesh snared four wickets between them while giving away 64 runs in their eight overs, which could be termed as brilliant considering the conditions.
The two spinners actually decreased the pace of their deliveries, allowing them to slightly grip off the surface and some of the MI batters perished while going for risky shots.
Rohit Sharma's (18 off 12 balls) wretched IPL form continued as young Vipraj (2/41 in 4 overs) found him plumb in-front with a googly that he missed while trying to go for a slog sweep over the cow-corner. He now has 56 runs from five innings.
For Vipraj, it is some kind of an achievement getting Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in back-to-back games.
Rohit's opening partner Ryan Rickleton (41 off 25 balls) did show spark but the seasoned Kuldeep (2/23 in 4 overs) seemed to have tied a thread to the white Kookaburra, controlling its length like a yo-yo.
Kuldeep flighted the deliveries, there was late dip and Rickleton perished while trying to play for the turn but it was a flipper that went straight.
In case of Suryakumar Yadav (40 off 27 balls), who had just started looking dangerous, Kuldeep decreased the pace and bowled the googly as the bat face turned for India's T20 skipper. The result was a simple catch in the deep.
Tilak and Naman then added 62 runs in 5.3 overs overs to take the team past 200-run mark.
