Dhiraj, Deepika assert class on final day

Olympians B. Dhiraj and Deepika Kumari dominate National archery championships, clinching individual and team titles.

Olympians B. Dhiraj and Deepika Kumari asserted their class to emerge champions in the recurve men’s and women’s categories respectively on the concluding day of the National archery championships at the Gopal Maidan here on Friday.

They doubled their joy by claiming a team medal apiece.

In the individual title clash with gritty greenhorn Divyansh Chaudhary, Dhiraj split points in the first two sets. He scored a perfect 30 in the second and consistently hit the yellow zone to win his maiden title with a 6-2 scoreline. His 18-year-old opponent could not handle the pressure at the crunch.

Dhiraj also contributed to the Services men’s team’s bronze medal victory.

“This was a good outing. Everything I have worked on is going in the right direction,” said Dhiraj.

Donning the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board’s colours, Deepika combined with her husband Atanu Das to beat the Punjab duo of Simranjeet Kaur and Aditya Chaudhary 6-2 for the mixed team gold.

In the women’s individual final, Deepika overcame a blip, even as her Paris Olympics’ team-mate and local favourite Ankita Bhakat shot three 10s to stage a fightback, in the second set to record a 6-2 win for her second gold.