Archery Premier Leagu
Dr. Shrikrishna Sharma
New Delhi. The Archery Premier League (APL) witnessed a major upset. The Rajputana Royals, who had been leading the league with all their wins, suffered a major setback when they were defeated by the Prithviraj Warriors. After winning all seven matches in a row, the Rajputana Royals lost their first match in the league. This victory for the Prithviraj Warriors is being considered a major triumph. In the crucial match between the Rajputana Royals and Prithviraj Warriors, the Prithviraj Warriors stunned the invincible Royals. They won the first set 76-74, with experienced compounder and captain Abhishek Verma taking the lead. Verma consistently performed well for the Warriors. He started the second set with a 10, followed by Matias Grande’s 10. However, Ojas Deotale continued to put the Warriors on the back foot with consistent scores. However, Verma appeared to be in full swing. She shot her second 10 of the set to give the Warriors a 49-47 lead. However, Ella Gibson’s second 10 brought the Royals closer to a draw. Finally, Andrea Becerra and Grande maintained their composure under pressure, and with crucial 10s, the Warriors won the second set 78-77, taking a 4-0 lead. Devtale’s 10 set set the tone for the Royals in a must-win set. But Verma didn’t give up, scoring another 10 to give the Warriors the lead. After four arrows, the Warriors led 38-37. In the contest between the two Indians, Devtale and Verma scored another 10. A calm Becerra also scored 10, sealing a resounding victory for the Warriors. The Warriors won the set 76-75 and the match 6-0, earning widespread applause. This Archery Premier League is being held at the Yamuna Sports Complex. The Mighty Marathas (MM) also secured a place in the semifinals with a dominant performance in Bahrain. The Marathas won 5-1 over the Chola Chiefs (CC). Brady Ellison for the Chiefs and Preneet Kaur for the Marathas were in excellent 10-hitting form in the first set. However, Dheeraj Bommadevara hit a 10 on the last MM arrow just before the buzzer, tying the first set at 76-76. Both teams shared a point each. In the second set, the Marathas maintained their composure until the end, while the Chiefs’ pressure mounted due to some loose arrows, including an 8 from receiver Deepika, forcing MM receiver Dheeraj to hit a 9 on the last arrow. He hit a 10, and MM took the set 78-76, winning two points to take a 3-1 lead. In the third set, CC’s experienced recurves Alison and Deepika faltered under pressure after scoring three consecutive 8-8 points, two of which came from Deepika, allowing the Marathas to take a one-point lead and win the set 75-74, and the match 5-1.
The Chero Archers emerged victorious in the shoot-off.
Kakatiya Knights compounders Nico Wiener and Jyothi Surekha Vennam scored four 10-10 points to take the lead, which proved decisive in the first set. Recurve player Elia Canales finally put the pressure on the Chero Archers with a 10-point score. For CA, Atanu Das’s 9 points and Rohit Kumar’s 10 points tied the set at 77-77, making the score 1-1 initially. Jyothi scored a 10-point when the Knights needed it most. With both teams, including Prithika Pradeep and Rohit, scoring 8 points, Jyoti’s 10 and Canales’ 9 proved to be the difference. But another 8 from Rohit forced the Knights to lose their lead, tying the score at 2-2 at 72-72. The Knights started the third set with Jyoti’s 10 points. However, Wiener’s score was reduced to 8, which was marked for re-measurement. Canales also scored 8 points for the Knights, which were also marked. Katherine Bauer put the Chero Archers ahead with 10 points, and despite Rohit’s 10 points for the Knights and another 10 points from Jyoti, they led 39-36. The Knights needed a perfect shot from Wiener, and she got just that, reducing the Chero Archers’ lead to one point. Das’s last arrow for the Chero Archers was worth 9 points, while Rohit, on the other hand, scored 9 points for the Knights. The Knights converted two decisive 8-point re-measures into 9 points, allowing them to win the set 76-75 and take a 4-2 lead. In the fourth set, Rohit couldn’t time the Knights’ last arrow, as Das’s last shot for the Chero Archers resulted in a 10, putting his opponents under immense time pressure. Rohit took too long to load his arrow, and the buzzer sounded, giving the Chero Archers a 77-67 win. The match was tied at 4-4 and went to a shoot-off. Four archers from both sides hit the yellow dot in the shoot-off. However, 17-year-old Prithika from California was the only archer to hit the target, securing the much-needed victory. At the end of the day’s matches, the Royals and Marathas had secured their places in the semi-finals with 7 and 6 wins from 8 matches, respectively. The remaining two spots will be decided between the Yoddhas (8 points), Chiefs (6 points), and Cherokee Archers (6 points). The Knights are out of the race with just one win from 8 matches. (Sports Editor)
