Asian Games silver medallist Muskan Kirar led Madhya Pradesh’s challenge by clinching two gold medals in the compound section in the junior National Archery Championships at Bhopal on Friday, PTI reported.
The 18-year-old, who was part of the silver-medal winning women’s team in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, defeated her state-mate Arshiya Chaudhary 149-139 in the compound final to bag the individual title.
Madhya Pradesh, who had grabbed the top seed by virtue of Muskan’s top-ranked performance (694 points) in the qualifications, faced a stiff challenge from Delhi in the team finals as both were locked 226-all.
The shoot-off also saw a tie with both teams scoring 26-26 but the trio of Muskan, Arishya and Anuradha Ahurwar prevailed by shooting closest to the centre (X).
MP also got the top billing in the mixed pair section where Muskan partnered Saurabh Pandey but the duo made a second round exit going down to semifinalists Andhra Pradesh 141-147.
Seeded fifth, Rajasthan pair of Priya Gurjar and Rajesh Saini pipped their opponents from Maharashtra 157-156 to bag the compound mixed pair gold.
Vedant Wankhade of Maharashtra edged out Haryana’s Vikas 141-132 for the compound men’s individual title, while Punjab won the team title beating Madhya Pradesh 229-218.
This the first Junior Nationals in two years with the last edition being held in Satara in February 2017 as the Archery Association of India was conducting the tournament within 45 days of getting its office bearers elected.
“The previous regime was busy politicking and wasting time in various courts than holding national tournaments,” the newly-elected AAI president BVP Rao said.
“The former regime has not held several tournaments for the last two years and as a result it has become enormous burden on the new body to hold the championships of of 2018 and 2019 during this calendar year.”
730 participants from 32 states and units are vying for top honours in the meet that will conclude on February 14.
Results:
Compound: Men’s: Vedant Wankhade (Maharashtra; 141 points), Vikas (Haryana; 132), Siddhant Gupta (Delhi; 144). Team: Punjab (229), Madhya Pradesh (218), Delhi (225).
Women’s: Muskan Kirar (149), Arshiya Chaudhary (both Madhya Pradesh; 139), Priya Gurjar (Rajasthan; 145). Team: Madhya Pradesh (226-26*), Delhi (226-26), Maharashtra (220).
Mixed: Rajasthan (157), Maharashtra (156), Haryana (152).
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