World Archery Championships Day 1: Abhishek among top seeds, Komalika disappoints

None of the Indian recurve archers were able to claim top spots in the opening day.

The Indian archers are finally back in action at the World Archery Championships 2021 which is being held in Yankton, USA. The ranking rounds witnessed Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam among the top seeds, whereas the recurve archers misfired.

Star Indian compound archer Abhishek Verma finished at the seventh spot with 695 points. Evren Cagiran of Turkey topped the charts with a score of 705. In the compound women's section, India's Jyothi Surekha Vennam claimed the sixth position with 684 points to her name. Colombian Sara Lopez occupied the pole position after the ranking round with a score of 693.

It is a steady start for the country's leading men's and women's compound archers at the World Archery Championships 2021. Both Verma and Vennam will now aim to do even better in the elimination rounds that will follow in the coming days.

On the other hand, Sangam Bisla and Rishabh Yadav finished in 26th and 49th place respectively. Among other compound archers in action, Muskan Kirar secured the 29th spot while Priya Gurjar finished 51st. The team events witnessed the men's and mixed compound teams among the top five, while the women's compound team finished at the seventh spot.

Recurve archers off to a slow start

Elsewhere, the Indian recurve archers got off to a relatively slow start at the World Archery Championships 2021. There were high hopes riding on the shoulders of the immensely talented Komalika Bari. However, she had an outing to forget finishing in 29th place with 614 points. Her compatriots Ankita Bhakat and Ridhi Phor fared better, securing 20th and 26th positions respectively. Reigning Olympic champion An San of South Korea finished in pole position with 646 points.

The male recurve archers were also disappointing. Parth Salunkhe was the pick of the bunch with 636 points to finish 45th. Aditya Choudhary and Atul Verma managed lowly 53rd and 56th positions respectively. The men's section also experienced another South Korean archer at the top, with Kim Woojin leading the way as he grabbed 677 points.

The team events saw the women's side grab the seventh spot with 1854 points. On the other hand, the men's and mixed teams ended the day at 13th and 16th positions respectively. The recurve archers will now know that there will be no margin for error when the elimination rounds begins at the World Archery Championships 2021 on Thursday.

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