Dhiraj Bommadevara completed a memorable golden double in Antalya, stunning Paris Olympics bronze medallist Lee Woo Seok of South Korea 7-3 in a gripping final to clinch his maiden individual Archery World Cup gold, just hours after winning the recurve mixed team title with Kumkum Mohod on Sunday.
The Indian Army archer, ranked 18th in the world, delivered a composed performance against the higher-ranked Korean to cap a breakthrough day in his career.
Dhiraj surged to a 5-1 lead by winning the first two sets 30-29 and 29-28, before sharing the third set 27-27.
Lee hit back in the fourth set, shooting two 10s and a 9 to take it 29-27 as Dhiraj missed a perfect score, cutting the deficit to 3-5.
However, the Indian refused to let the momentum slip.
Leading 5-3, Dhiraj closed out the contest in style with a flawless final set, drilling three consecutive 10s, including an X, to seal the gold medal.
Gold After Gold
Dhiraj returned to individual competition just a couple of hours after winning the recurve mixed team gold with Kumkum Mohod and produced a remarkable comeback to defeat Germany’s Moritz Wieser 6-4 in a hard-fought semifinal.
He dropped into the seven-ring with his second arrow and lost the opening set 26-27. The next two sets ended level at 28-28, leaving the Indian trailing 2-4 after three sets.
Facing elimination, Dhiraj responded emphatically, shooting three 10s to take the fourth set 30-27 and draw level at 4-4.
Under pressure in the deciding set, Wieser shot a wayward 5 with his second arrow. Dhiraj, however, held his nerve, returning scores of 9, 10 and 9 to win the set 28-23 and book his maiden World Cup final.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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