India’s compound archers made history at the World Archery Championships 2023 by clinching three gold medals at the competition.
The first major Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier in archery took place from 31 July to 6 August in Berlin, Germany. Over 530 recurve and compound archers were in the German capital to compete in 10 events, with nearly 330 of them also aiming to earn a qualification berth for the Olympic Games next year. The archers competed at Maifeld and along Olympischer Platz in the Berlin Olympic Park, with a total of 24 Olympic quota spots up for grabs.
By the end of the final tournament, India put up a spirited show and ranked number 1 on the medal table by winning four medals (3 gold and 1 bronze). Young prodigy Aditi Swami, 17, stole the show by claiming two gold medals in individual and team events. This was followed by Jyothi Vennam, who won one bronze (individual) and gold (team) each. Until this edition, India had never won any gold medals at the championships. Swami also made history as she became the youngest World Archery Champion in the World Cup era (2006 and on) and claimed India’s first-ever individual title. The 17-year-old beat Andrea Becerra, 149-147, in the showpiece to become a double world champion.
In the Women’s team compound, Vennam, Swami and Parneet Kaur showcased an exceptional performance against the Mexican team. The team consisted of Dafne Quintero, Ana Sofia Hernandez Jeon and Andrea Becerra. The Indian trio emerged victorious with a score of 235-229.
In the men’s section, Pravin Ojas Deotale was the lone medalist. He claimed an upset win over World No. 1 Mike Schloesser of Netherlands (149-148) in the semi-finals, He then defeated Poland’s Lukasz Przybylski with a perfect score of 150 to the former’s 149 in the final.
Archers use three different types of bows in archery – recurve, compound and barebow. The Olympics only holds recurve bow tournaments. The World Archery Championships and Archery World Cup hold compound competitions but the Olympic Games do not. At the end of the Championships, none of India’s recurve archers could bag a quota for Paris 2024. They will have to wait for the Asian Championships scheduled to be held next year.
