New Delhi, Oct 14 Seasoned compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam on Wednesday said her early exit from the individual event at the Asian Games was “very unexpected”, admitting she had little chance after a weak start against 14-year-old Kang Yeonseo.
Jyothi, who had entered the Aichi-Nagoya Games as the defending champion after winning the women’s individual compound gold at the 2023 Hangzhou edition, was stunned by the young Korean archer, who shot a perfect score of 150 in the pre-quarterfinals.
“I tried from my side in the individual event but the thing is the opponent shot so well 150/150 so I had no chance because I started a bit weak in the first round. I tried whatever I could, I did. It was very unexpected,” Jyothi said in an online interaction.
The 30-year-old, however, put the disappointment behind her quickly and helped India win the women’s team gold.
“But I thought I still have the team event and I will give my hundred percent in that,” she said.
India enjoyed an impressive archery campaign at the Games, topping the medal standings with nine medals, including five gold, two silver and two bronze.
While compound archery continued to be a major source of medals for India, the recurve archers also made a significant contribution, including winning the country’s first-ever individual recurve gold.
“Overall the campaign was good. India repeated the same performance from last time which was three years ago. To be able to match that same performance is a good thing,” Jyothi said.
“The recurve team did very well, individual also Kumkum (Mohod) won gold for the first time so it was a great campaign,” she added.
Neeraj Chauhan defeated top seed compatriot Dhiraj Bommadevara to claim the men’s individual recurve bronze.
Neeraj said he focused on his shooting rather than on his opponent during the medal contest.
“I didn’t think what will happen. I focused on my shooting. In the first round I had double 10 so I thought if I can continue to do this, I can (win). I didn’t think who my opponent was, I just kept shooting,” he said.
Neeraj also spoke about the advice he received from Dhiraj, who had encouraged him to enjoy the moment.
“Dhiraj bhaiya always says just enjoy the situation and the moment. Because what is there today won’t be there tomorrow and vice versa,” he said.
“I had spoken to bhaiya in the morning. We had thought we will play in the final together but there were some shortcomings and we had to play for the bronze medal,” Neeraj added.
NTPC has been supporting archery through the Archery Association of India since 2018.
(PTI News)
