Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam win mixed team bronze in World Games 2022
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Asian Games gold medalist Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam won bronze in the compound mixed team archery event at the World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. In the bronze medal match, the Indian archery duo beat Andrea Becerra and Miguel Becerra of Mexico 157-156.
At the end of the first set, Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam led 40-39. However, Andrea Becerra, a bronze medalist at the World Championships, and Miguel Becerra staged a comeback to tie the match 78-78 in the second set. The Indian team stormed ahead again in the third set and hit four tens in the final set to secure a close victory.
Earlier, Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam defeated New Zealand 156-155 in the round of 8Â before losing 159-157 to Colombia's Daniel Munoz and women's world No. 1 Sara Lopez. Last month, Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam won gold in the Archery World Cup in Paris.
This is India's first World Games medal in archery and its fifth overall since the event's start in 1981. India has previously won medals in snooker, powerlifting, and badminton. Individually, Abhishek Verma's campaign was cut short due to a lack of medals.
In the bronze medal match, the Indian archer, who was rated fifth in the world in men's compound archery, was defeated by Canada's Christopher Perkins 145-148. Abhishek Verma defeated world No. 1 and world champion, Mike Schloesser of the United States, in the quarterfinals before falling to world No. 4 Jean Philippe Boulch of France in the semi-finals.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam, the world No. 3 in women's compound archery, having fallen to Toja Ellison of Slovenia in the quarter-finals of the women's solo event 149-148.
