Archery World Cup: Abhishek Verma wins historic gold

Abhishek Verma is the first Indian man to win two gold medals in the men's compound individual event at Archery World Cups.

Archer Abhishek Verma after winning the gold medal in the World Cup in Paris.

Abhishek Verma beat American Kris Schaff via shoot-off in a nerve-wracking final to win the compound men’s individual title in the Archery World Cup Stage-3 in Paris on Saturday.

Verma shot a 10 against Schaff’s nine in the shoot-off after the two archers were tied 148-148 in the gold medal match.

This was Verma’s second World Cup individual gold medal. He won the first one in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2015.

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The 32-year-old Indian dominated from the beginning, scoring perfect 30s apiece in the first three of five attempts and establishing a two-point lead. Schaff fought back to level the scores and take the contest to the tie-breaker.

Earlier, Verma defeated Russian Anton Bulaev 146-138 in the semifinals to reach the title clash. Verma, who led 86-85 after the third attempt, scored perfect 30s in his last two attempts to ensure a medal for himself.

The 32-year-old fetched the lone medal for the country in the compound division.