Shillong, November 14: Thirteen-year-old Pratibha Kandara of Rajasthan and Gursehaj Singh Sandhu of Punjab claimed gold medals in the women’s and men’s Indian Round qualification events, respectively, at the NTPC Senior National Archery Championship held at the Parade Ground, Umsawli, on Saturday.
Both archers finished level on points with their respective silver medallists but secured the top positions in the official standings, highlighting the close competition on the third day of the national championship.
The tournament is being organised by the Archery Association of Meghalaya under the aegis of the Archery Association of India.
In the men’s Indian Round qualification, Gursehaj Singh Sandhu staged an impressive comeback after trailing Andhra Pradesh’s Solagam Sambasiva by five points following the first 30-metre series.
Sandhu produced the highest score of 347 in the second series to draw level with Sambasiva on 686 points and secure the gold medal.
Despite finishing with an identical score, Sambasiva had to settle for silver, while Gaurav Sanjay Chandane of the All India Police Sports Control Board claimed bronze with 684 points. Chandane finished just one point ahead of Uttar Pradesh’s Subham in a closely contested battle for third place.
Meanwhile, in the women’s Indian Round qualification, Rajasthan’s 13-year-old Pratibha Kandara secured gold after recording scores of 331 and 330 in the two series for a total of 661 points.
Punjab’s Bhawna Rani, who trailed Kandara by three points after the opening series, mounted a strong comeback with 333 points in the second series to finish level on 661. However, the official standings placed Kandara first, while Bhawna Rani secured the silver medal.
Dipika Pandey of the All India Police Sports Control Board claimed bronze with 659 points after producing an impressive second-series score of 337. Pandey, who had been placed seventh after the first series, climbed to third position to secure the police contingent’s second bronze medal of the day.
For host state Meghalaya, 18-year-old Remedy Nongpluh emerged as the highest-placed archer in the men’s Indian Round qualification, finishing 21st with 659 points. Nongpluh narrowly missed a place among the top 20, finishing just two points outside the leading group.
In the women’s Indian Round qualification, 19-year-old Dayaka Sohbar led Meghalaya’s contingent with 625 points, securing 26th position. The two young archers also represented Meghalaya in the mixed team qualification, combining their individual scores for a total of 1,284 points. Their performance placed Meghalaya 14th in the mixed team qualification standings.
The third day of the NTPC Senior National Archery Championship saw closely contested qualification rounds, with narrow margins separating the leading archers in both the men’s and women’s Indian Round events.
The championship continues at Umsawli, bringing together archers from across the country to compete in various categories at the national level.
