National Archery | Powerhouse Maharashtra shows its class

Maharashtra archers shine in National Championships, reaching finals in compound men, women, and team events with stellar performances.

Led by Prathamesh Fuge and Madhura Dhamangaonkar, Maharashtra archers shrugged off their disappointing performances in individual competitions to enter the finals of compound men, women and team events in the National archery championships at the Gopal Maidan here on Wednesday.

Maharashtra, studded with international archers, including World champions Ojas Deotale, Aditi Swami and World Cup gold medallist Prathamesh Fuge, witnessed disheartening moments in the morning as none from the State could reach the semifinals.

However, Maharashtra archers bounced back later. The men’s team, comprising Fuge, Sahil Jadhav and Tejbir Singh Jahagirdar, defeated Jharkhand 235-223, Rajasthan 232-230, Haryana 236-229 to set up a title clash with Services.

The women’s team, consisting of Madhura, Aditi and Prithika Pradeep, beat Manipur 235-225, Delhi 230-228 and Railways 229-224. It will meet Rajasthan.

Training partners Madhura and Fuge showed good coordination and shot consistently well to eliminate Jharkhand 157-153, Services 159-154 and Rajasthan 159-153 and reach the mixed team final.

They will face the Punjab pair of Parneet Kaur, who survived a scare in the first round of the women’s individual elimination phase, edging past Goa’s Anuradha Boruah 140-140 (shoot-off: X*-X) by shooting closer to the centre in the tie-breaker, and Uday Kamboj – the finalists in individual events.

Abhishek Sharma displayed his composure as he scored a perfect 150 in succession in the quarterfinals and semifinals on his way to the men’s individual final.