India defeated France 232-231 in the compound men’s team final to win the gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage-1 at Antalya, Turkey, on Saturday.
The Indian trio of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Aman Saini rallied to beat the French team of Jean Philippe Boulch, Quentin Baraer and Adrien Gontier in a thrilling contest.
India, which trailed 56-57, 113-116 and 173-174 in the first three ends, got past France in the fourth and final end to secure a memorable victory. The Indians scored a perfect 60 in the penultimate end to narrow down the margin and shot 59 against France’s 56 in the fourth.
This was India’s and Abhishek’s second compound men’s team gold medal at the event. Abhishek was also part of the Indian side that won the first ever gold in Shanghai in 2017.
This was the first team gold for both Rajat and Aman.
In the compound mixed team bronze medal match, Abhishek and Muskan Kirar gave the Croatian duo of Domagoj Buden and Amanda Mlinaric a tough fight before losing 157-156.
The Croatians shot a perfect 40 in the opening end and matched the Indians’ scores in the next three to hold one to their slim advantage.
