India to fight for all three gold in compound archery

India won medals in all four disciplines of the Compound section in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Trisha Deb and her team-mates Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Muskan Kirar lost the final by one point (file photo).

Compound archers will compete in only three disciplines at the upcoming Asian Games and chief coach Jiwanjot Singh said India would be aiming for all three gold medals on offer.

India had grabbed medals in all the four disciplines of the compound section in Incheon Asian Games in 2014 but this time the men’s and women’s individual events had been replaced by a mixed pair event.

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“It’s a big loss for us, as two of our medals had come in the individual sections -- Abhisek Verma (silver) and Trisha Deb (bronze),” Singh told PTI   from the sidelines of their camp at the Sports Authority of India, Sonepat.

But the good news is the compound archers have peaked at the right time.

The women’s compound team has created history by reaching the number one ranking with their double silver medal winning efforts in the Antalya and Berlin World Cup stages.

Indian mixed pair duo of Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam on the other hand has won a medal in each of the four World Cup stages in Shanghai, Antalya, Salt Lake and Berlin.

“We will fight for gold in each of the three sections,” Singh added, pointing out that they have won medals in all the disciplines of the Asian Championships of 2013, 2015 and 2017.

The preparation is also going on full swing under the guidance of two-time World Cup Final gold medallist Sergio Pagni.

The 39-year-old Italian, who is here for 10 days on the recommendation of Verma, will wrap up his conditioning camp tomorrow.

“He comes with a lot of experience and it’s about sharing his knowledge and fine tuning our team ahead of the Games,” Singh said.

Pagni’s appointment for just 10 days had been criticised, but the Indian chief coach said: “He's not here to make any drastic changes. Our progress is good enough and it’s about mental conditioning and fine tuning.”

While it’s a setback in the compound category, the Olympic discipline recurve archers will be boosted by the addition of mixed pair event in addition to the four regular events.

The Indian recurve archers had returned empty-handed from Incheon Asian Games, and their current form has left a lot to be desired.