Jharkhand’s Komalika Bari won gold medal in women’s cadet recurve category in the World Archery Youth Championships in Madrid after a 7-3 victory over Japan’s Waka Sonoda in the final.
The Indian, who had overcome Korean opposition in a shoot-off in the semi-final to reach the gold-medal match after trailing 1-5 in the encounter, had no problems in the final. Bari won the first two sets to race to a 4-0 lead in the encounter.
The Japanese, then, managed to stay in the encounter by tying the third set to make it 5-1 in Bari’s favour.
With the Indian a point away from the gold, Sonoda held her nerve to win the fourth set to make it 5-3, but the 17-year-old Indian edged out her opponent 29-28 in the final set to clinch the gold medal in her very first final at this stage.
This is the last tournament for the Indian archers to play under the national flag as the World Archery’s suspension of the country will come into effect after this event.