Seasoned archers Rajat Chauhan and Trisha Deb withstood pressure to win the compound men and women crowns respectively in the NTPC National archery championships at the Barabati Stadium on Thursday.
Chauhan, a World championships silver medallist, shot close to his best to beat Arjun Kumar, a Services archer representing Uttar Pradesh 145-144 and retain his national title.
The Rajasthan archer faced a nervous moment when he scored an eight in his last shot to tie on 144 points with Parashan Nath of Railways in the second round. However, the 24-year-old hit the bull's eye to get the better of Nath, who lost even after scoring a 10, in the tie-shoot.
Chauhan began the summit clash with three 10s and Arjun returned the favour in the next set. Chauhan managed to grab a thin lead and closed the match with a 10 to win the battle.
“I was confident and focused on my game,” said Chauhan.
In the women's final, 27-year-old Trisha, another Worlds silver medallist, rallied to defeat Madhumita Kumari 144-142 and claim her maiden gold medal.
Trailing 29-30 after the first set, Trisha fought back to overtake Madhumita (88-85) in the third and stayed ahead till the end.
“Strangely, I never won this title. So, this is a special win,” said Trisha, who joined hands with Sunendu Roy to help Railways bag the mixed team bronze.
Abhishek Verma and Vennam Jyothi Surekha, who topped the rankings, crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals. Verma lost to K. Venkatadri 144-145, while Jyothi came up short against Drishty 139-140.
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