The Indian men's compound archery team, consisting of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Aman Saini, won the gold medal at the Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey, beating France in the final on Saturday.
France's Jean Philippe Boulch, Quentin Baraer and Adrien Gontier took an early lead in the team event with score reading 57-56 at End 1. They increased their lead to four points at End 2 but India then made a superb comeback. They had a perfect score at End 4, clinching 60 points from six shots while France scored 58. France's overall lead was 174 to India's 173 going into the final End.
France didn't start the final End well, scoring three nines while India scored three consecutive 10s. India had just one nine in six shots while France scored 56. India won the gold 232-230.
The team, seeded ninth, had earlier beaten the top-seeded Turkey 235-233 in the quarterfinals before beating Great Britain 236-235 in the semifinals to reach the gold medal play-off and ensuring India's first medal of the 2022's first world cup. They had played Italy (237-232) in the second round.
In the other medal event on Saturday, India's compound mixed team of Verma and Muskan Kirar lost the bronze medal playoff against Croatia's Amanda Mlinaric, Domagoj Buden 157-156.
On Sunday, India's recurve mixed team pair of Tarundeep Rai and Ridhi Phor will fight for the gold. Seeded fifth, Rai and Phor defeated Spain 5-3 to reach the final.
How's compound archery different from recurve?
Compound archery is not an Olympics discipline and the type of bow used is a more mechanical one compared to recurve bow. The compound bow, invented in the 1960s, uses a levering system of pulleys and cables which makes it faster and more accurate. It also includes a magnified scope for sighting, a release aid which reduces the strength and effort required to pull the strings. A recurve bow is closer in shape to the traditional bows used since ancient times.