Nirmala and Sunder win titles in National archery championship

TAKING AIM: Nirmala Devi put on a gritty display to beat Kamini Boro for the individual gold medal.- PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

S. Nirmala Devi thwarted Kamini Boro’s challenge to clinch the individual women’s crown in the Indian (bamboo bow) round of the National archery championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.

M. Sunder Singh consistently shot top scores to beat his Assam Rifles teammate H. Bijendranath Singh 6-2 and take the men’s individual title. Punjab defeated Kerala 139-135 to emerge champion in the mixed team’s event.

Nirmala, who had claimed the bronze medal in the previous edition, displayed a gritty performance to beat Kamini 6-4. The Manipuri split the points with her rival from Assam in the first set before shooting three 9s to take a 3-1 lead in the following set.

Kamini regained her focus to score 8, 9, 9 and level the match as Nirmala slipped a bit to gather 6, 7, 8 in the third. Nirmala, however, bounced back quickly to take the next set. She withstood pressure to share the points in the fifth and lay her hand on the gold medal.

Sunder Singh overcame a rare lapse, when he managed only a five from the second shot of the third set, to hit the middle frequently and keep Bijendranath at bay. Ahead 4-2 in the fourth set, Sunder scored 10, 10, 9 in reply to Bijendranath’s three 9s and sealed the contest in his favour.

The results: Indian round: Men: Individual: Final: M. Sunder Singh bt H. Bijendranath Singh 6-2; Third place: Arun Boro bt L. Saphaba Singh 7-1. Semifinals: M. Sunder Singh bt Arun Boro 5 (9)-5 (8); H. Bijendranath Singh bt L. Saphaba Singh 5 (10)-5 (9). 50m: 1. Santosh Thapa Magar 334, 2. H. Bijendranath Singh 331, 3. Bishnu Ran Nath 329; 30m: 1. Th. Captain Singh 345, 2. Abhishek Kumar Singh 340, 3. Arjun Kumar 338.

Women: Final: S. Nirmala Devi bt Kamini Boro 6-4; Third place: Baljeet Kaur bt Binuma Brahma 6-0.

Semifinals: S. Nirmala Devi bt Binuma Brahma 6-2; Kamini Boro bt Baljeet Kaur 6-2. 50m: 1. Sukhpreet Kaur 316, 2. Ekta Shirke 304, 3. Jai Laxmi Laguri 298; 30m: 1. Ekta Shirke 324, 2. Maneesha M.B. 321, 3. Baljeet Kaur 312.

Mixed team: Final: Punjab bt Kerala 139-135; Third place: Chhattisgarh bt Maharashtra 136-133. Semifinals: Punjab bt Chhattisgarh 140-129, Kerala bt Maharashtra 147-142.