World championship silver medallist Rajat Chauhan struck a telling blow in the climax to dethrone World Cup gold medallist Abhishek Verma 148-146 in the men’s compound final of the 36th National archery championship here on Thursday.
The 20-year-old Rajat took a one-point lead after the third set of arrows and enhanced the lead to two points by the end of the fifth and final set.
Rajasthan’s joy was complete when Rajat spearheaded the team to the gold ahead of Delhi 231-228. Ajay Singh, Nand Kishore Rawat and Sarvesh Pareek supported Rajat in piloting the team to the top.
“I’m very happy with the two gold medals for Rajsthan. I had prepared well, and the hard work has brought very good results,” said the world No. 5 Rajat.
The 26-year-old Abhishek, ranked No. 7, said it was interesting to have young archers keeping the experienced ones on their toes, and that it would lead to better results for the team in the international arena.
In the women’s event, 19-year-old Jyothi Surekha Vennam, representing Petroleum Sports Board, defended her gold, as she beat Prabhjot Kaur of Punjab 142-140.
However, Punjab (Priyanshu Kachhap, Jaskaranpreet Kaur, Ramandeep Kaur apart from Prabhjot) took the team gold, one point ahead of Maharashtra in a thrilling final.
Jayalakshmi Sarikonda and Swapnil Dhamdhere won the mixed team gold for Maharashtra, beating the ranking topper and defending champion Swati Dudhwal and Sarvesh Pareek of Rajasthan 157-153.
The results:
Compound:Men (final): Rajat Chauhan (Raj) bt Abhishek Verma (Del) 148-146; Third place: Sarvesh Kumar (Raj) bt Gokul Tamuli (Asm) 147-140. Semifinals: Abhishek bt Sarvesh 147-146; Rajat bt Gokul 147-142. Team (final): Rajasthan bt Delhi 231-228; Third place: ITBP bt Assam Rifles 223-222.
Women (final): V. Jyothi Surekha (PSPB) bt Prabhjot Kaur (Pun) 142-140; Third place: Lily Chanu Paonam (Man) bt Trisha Deb (Rly) 145-140. Semifinals: V. Jyothi Surekha bt Trisha Deb 145-141; Prabhjot Kaur bt Lily Chanu Paonam 140-139. Team (final): Punjab bt Maharashtra 223-222; Third place: Railways bt Manipur 222-218.
Mixed team (final): Maharashtra (Jayalakshmi Sarikonda, Swapnil Dhamdhere) bt Rajasthan (Swati Dudhwal, Sarvesh Prateek) 157-153. Third place: Manipur (Lili Chanu Paonam, Oinam Kennedy Singh) bt Bihar (Anjali Kumari, Gurvinder Singh) 149-147. Semifinals: Rajasthan bt Bihar 157-148; Maharashtra bt Manipur 151-150.
