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The Indian women's compound archery team sealed a gold medal match against China at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Wednesday, beating South Korea in a tense semifinal.
India beat South Korea by 235-233, by the barest of margins. With South Korea piling up pressure in the second half of the match and levelling the scores at 175-all, the Indians first took a one-point lead, and then two 10s from Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep and a nine from Jyothi Surekha Vennam helped India seal a two-point win. Prithika and Jyothi were the stars for India, shooting six tens out of eight attempts, with Chikitha getting five 10s in eight attempts. The Indian trio of Jyothi, Chikitha and Prithika started off well, with Prithika managing a nine and Jyothi following it with a 10. South Korea had a fine start with three 10s, as per ESPN. India responded back with convincing 10s from the trio in the second rotation, and South Korea managed to level the scores 59-59 at the end of second rotation. During the third rotation, India was slightly rocky at the start, with Chikitha managing only a nine, but Prithika and Jyothi made up for it by firing perfect 10s. South Korea started with a nine as well, and then the same score on the second and third shot helped India reach a lead for the first time in the match, at 88-86. India had another incredible rotation, with 10s raining from Chikitha, Prithika and Jyothi, while the 14-year-old Kang managed her third nine in a row and the other two getting perfect 10s. Halfway through the semifinal, India led 118-115. During the second half, Koreans got to shoot first, with India tasked with matching their opponents. South Korea made a comeback at the start of the second half, managing three 10s. On the other hand for India, Chikitha and Prithika shot perfect 10s while Jyothi shot her first nine of the match. Nonetheless, Team India led 147-145. South Korea continued to turn tables with another perfect set of three tens, while Chikitha and Prithika added two nines and Jyothi a 10, bringing the scores level to 175-175. Later, two 10s came from Korea and a nine from Kang, which was responded by a nine from Chikitha and 10s from two other Indians. India led by one point at 205-204, with one set of arrows from each player to go. After South Korea finished the semifinal with a score of 233, two tens from Chikitha and Prithika and a nine from Jyothi helped India secure a win by two points, making it 235-233. (ANI)
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