Archery World Cup 2023 Stage 3 Review: India’s medallists, high and lows in Medellin

Abhishek Verma clinched the gold medal in his comeback

Stage three of the Archery World Cup 2023 which began on June 13, 2023, culminated on June 18, 2023, in Medellin, Colombia. India’s journey came to an end with four medals, with Abhishek Verma winning the only gold medal and the men’s recurve and compound and women’s compound teams clinching three bronze medals for the nation.

Verma, the ace Indian compound archer, returned to the Indian squad for stage 3 in Medellin and lived up to expectations by claiming the prestigious gold medal. Thus, he also secured a place in the final stage of the Archery World Cup 2023 which will be staged at Hermosillo, Mexico on September 9 and 10, 2023. This stage, however, didn’t feature Atanu Das and Neeraj Chauhan, who were replaced by Tushar Shelke and Mrinal Chauhan, based on the selection trials that took place in May. 

India’s performance at the Archery World Cup 2023 Stage 3

Compound

Men’s Individual

Abhishek Verma - Gold medalOjas Pravin Deotale - Round of 32Prathamesh Jawkar - Round of 32Rajat Chauhan - Round of 16

Men's Team

Abhishek Verma, Ojas Deotale and Prathamesh Jawkar - Bronze medal

Women’s Individual

Aditi Gopichand Swami - Round of 16Jyothi Surekha Vennam - QuarterfinalsParneet Kaur - QuarterfinalsAvneet Kaur - Round of 16

Women's Team

Aditi Swami, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur - Bronze medal

Mixed

Aditi Gopichand Swami, Abhishek Verma - Quarterfinals

Recurve

Men’s Individual

Tushar Prabhakar Shelke - Round of 64Tarundeep Rai - Round of 64Mrinal Chauhan - Round of 32Dhiraj Bommadevara - Round of 64

Men's Team

Tushar Shelke, Mrinal Chauhan, and Dhiraj Bommadevara - Bronze medal

Women’s Individual

Bhajan Kaur - QuarterfinalsTanisha Verma - Round of 32Sangeeta - Round of 64Ankita Bhakat - Round of 32

Women's Team

Bhajan Kaur, Tanisha Verma, Sangeeta - Round of 16

Mixed

Bhajan Kaur, Tushar Prabhakar Shelke - Semifinals

Indian medalists at the Archery World Cup 2023 Stage 3 Medellin

Athlete (s)	Event	Medal
Abhishek Verma	Men’s Compound – Individual	Gold
Abhishek Verma, Ojas Deotale and Prathamesh Jawkar	Men’s Compound - Team	Bronze
Aditi Swami, Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur	Women’s Compound - Team	Bronze
Tushar Shelke, Mrinal Chauhan, and Dhiraj Bommadevara	Men’s Recurve - Team	Bronze

Archery World Cup 2023 Stage 3: Archers who impressed the most

1) Abhishek Verma

Abhishek Verma, who was not a part of the squad for the Archery World Cup Stage 1 and Stage 2 and made a comeback, emerged as the best performer for India as he claimed the gold medal in Stage 3 of the World Cup. The 33-year-old archer got the better of the United States James Lutz by 148-146 in the finals. Earlier, he had stunned the World no.1 and top seed from the Netherlands, Mike Schloesser, by emerging victorious in a shoot-off (10*-10) after both scored 148-148 to reach the semi-finals.

2) Aditi Gopichand Swami

Youngster Aditi Gopichand Swami surprised the world as she achieved a sensational score of 711 out of 720 during the 72-arrow qualification round of the women’s compound. With this, she smashed the U18 World record which was previously held by the USA’s Liko Arreola who had secured 705/720. She narrowly missed out on the senior world record that Colombia's Sara Lopez holds which she attained with a total of 713.

Archery World Cup 2023 Stage 2: Archers who disappointed

1) Tarundeep Rai

Veteran recurve archer and three-time Olympian Tarundeep Rai once again disappointed as he couldn’t go past the Round of 64. His poor form at the Archery World Cup 2023 continued as he was defeated by the USA’s Gabriel Anderson despite being the better-seeded archer among the two. His performance in the 2nd stage of the World Cup wasn’t impressive either as he bowed out of the competition in the Round of 64 and was 57th seeded there.