Deepika Kumari Shines with Silver at Archery World Cup Final

Indian archer Deepika Kumari clinched a silver medal at the Archery World Cup final. Despite losing to China's Li Jiaman, she showcased commendable performances. The event marked her sixth Archery World Cup podium finish, highlighting her continued brilliance post-motherhood and Olympic outings.

Veteran Indian archer Deepika Kumari added another feather to her cap by securing a silver medal in the women's recurve event at the Archery World Cup final on Sunday. The seasoned archer, who participated in the Paris Olympics, was overpowered by China's Li Jiaman with a score of 0-6, as reported by Olympics.com. Jiaman previously clinched a silver medal with her team at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The prestigious Archery World Cup final featured an elite lineup of eight archers in both the men's and women's categories, including events in recurve and compound archery. Deepika made an impressive start by defeating Yang Xiaolei, Jiaman's fellow competitor from the Paris 2024 Olympics, with a dominating 6-0 win in the quarterfinals.

In a gripping encounter, the four-time Olympian further claimed victory against Mexico's Alejandra Valencia, a mixed team bronze medalist from both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. This latest achievement signifies Deepika's sixth time reaching the podium at the World Cup finals, and her first since embracing motherhood in 2022. She previously finished as a runner-up in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2024 and won a bronze medal back in 2018.

During the Paris 2024 Olympics, Deepika competed in the women's individual and team events alongside Bhajan Kaur and Ankita Bhakat but fell short of advancing beyond the quarterfinals, extending her search for India's Olympic medal in archery. Despite the challenges, her high rankings in the 2024 World Cup series secured her place in the World Cup final, following her silver medal win at the Shanghai World Cup.

Among the Indian contingent at the World Cup final, Asian Games champion Jyothi Surekha Vennam concluded her campaign at the quarterfinals, succumbing to Estonia's Meeri-Marita Paas with a narrow 147-145 score. In men's compound, Prathamesh Fuge narrowly missed podium success, losing to former World Champion Mike Schloesser from the Netherlands in the bronze medal matchup with a score of 150-146.

Furthermore, Paris 2024 Olympians Dhiraj Bommadevara and Priyansh exited in the quarterfinals of men's recurve and compound archery categories, respectively. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)