Jyothi Surekha Vennam upset world No 2 Yesim Bostan of Turkey in a one-arrow shoot-off to win a bronze medal in individual women’s compound archery at the World Championships at Den Bosch, Netherlands on Saturday.
The Indian scored a 10 over her opponent’s 9 in the shoot-off after the duo were locked 145-all in five ends of 15 arrows each. This was her second medal of the day after winning the team bronze.
In the individual bronze play-off, she established a one-point lead after nine arrows but Bostan had two flawless ends of 60/60 to snatch a two-point lead going into the decider.
Under pressure, the Indian was at her best to shoot three perfect 10s, including two closest to the centre, for a 145-145 draw, forcing the match into the tie-break.
There was no stopping her as she shot another perfect shot of 10 while her opponent wilted under pressure to miss the mark by one point.
“This is my first individual medal at the World Championships. I was a little nervous but I thought I would give my best. She also shot very well and kept the pressure,” Jyothi told PTI.
Asked about the 10 in the shoot-off, she said, “I thought I would shoot my arrow like how I do it every time.
The Asian Games silver medallist had also led the fight back in the team event by shooting six perfect 10s out of eight arrows as India, also featuring Muskan Kirar and Raj Kaur, bounced back to down Turkey 229-226 in the bronze play-off.
With PTI inputs
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