India's Men's Compound Struggles at World Archery Championship

Gwangju, South Korea, Sep 8 (PTI) - India's extraordinary run in the men's compound events at the World Archery Championships came to an uninspiring close on Monday, as the gold-winning triumvirate of Rishabh Yadav, Aman Saini, and Prathamesh Fuge exited in the individual quarterfinals.

The team, which had clinched a historic gold in the team competition, entered the quarters with high hopes, being placed in separate quarters of the draw. India anticipated a possible sweep of the medals, but those aspirations ended in dismay.

With this outcome, India was also unable to retain its individual gold in the men's compound category at the World Championships. Despite Ojas Deotale having secured the title at the previous edition in Berlin in 2023, he couldn't qualify for the current team amid intense trials competition. Meanwhile, the women's individual compound events are yet to be concluded.

Fuge's debut campaign, which had a fairytale narrative, was halted by Denmark's world number two, Mathias Fullerton. The quarterfinal contest concluded 148-148, with Fullerton edging out Fuge 10-9 in the shoot-off.

In a gripping duel of 22-year-olds, Fuge, who had recently outclassed world number one Mike Schloesser in the pre-quarters with a flawless 150 out of 150, initially seemed poised for victory. He led 119-118 after four ends.

However, a crucial drop point at the start of the final end allowed Fullerton to draw level at 148 before clinching the shoot-off with a faultless 10, as Fuge could only manage a 9.

Following the mid-day break, Fuge resumed impressively, hitting seven 10s consecutively before dropping his first point in the third end. Despite a series of 23 perfect scores, Fullerton's impecable run of 10s led to a dramatic climax.

Fuge regained momentum in the fourth end when the Dane faltered slightly, but a 9 to open the final end shattered the Indian's hopes as Fullerton maintained his flawless streak.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Yadav, India's top-ranked archer, narrowly fell 145-146 to France's eventual world champion Nicolas Girard. Yadav, fresh from team gold and mixed team silver wins with Jyothi Surekha Vennam, relinquished a one-point lead in the penultimate round by losing two points in the final end, thus stepping out of medal contention.

In another quarterfinal clash, Saini succumbed 144-147 to American Curtis Broadnax, ensuring no Indian advanced further into medal contention after Sunday's historic success.

Earlier in the day, Fuge, ranked 19th among Indian qualifiers in the men's compound section, delivered a career-defining performance by eliminating world number one and 2013 world champion Mike Schloesser from the Netherlands. Fuge, in his world championship debut, executed a perfect score, shooting all 15 arrows as 10s in a stunning 150 out of 150 display.

Both archers began their match with precision, landing 10s through the initial three ends. But under mounting pressure, Schloesser faltered in the fourth, missing a point. Fuge's exceptional composure sustained his sequence of 10s, securing his sensational victory.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)