Priyansh and Parneet Kaur top compound qualification at the Senior National Archery Championships

Priyansh of Delhi and Parneet Kaur of Punjab topped the compound qualification rounds at the Senior National Archery Championships in Shillong on Friday. Former world youth champion Priyansh shot 713, with 32 Xs, to edge Haryana's Mohit Dagar by a single point, with Kushal Dalal third on 710. Parneet totalled 710 with 28 Xs to lead the women's standings, ahead of Maharashtra's Madhura Dhamangaonkar on 704 and Telangana's Chikitha Taniparthi on 699. Priyansh shot 356 in the first half and 357 in the second, drawing on experience of training at the windy Yamuna Sports Complex in Delhi, while Parneet shot two identical halves of 355. Parneet, a member of India's 2023 World Championship-winning women's compound team, had fixed a gripping problem earlier in the year and finished fourth in the Asian Games trials, narrowly missing a berth. Former world champion Ojas Deotale finished fourth in the men's qualification on 707, behind Asian Games team gold medallist Kushal Dalal.

In the men's team eliminations, Punjab beat Rajasthan 235-232 to reach the final, while Madhya Pradesh edged RSPB 233-233 on a 28-27 shoot-off. Rajasthan beat RSPB 234-233 in the men's bronze-medal match. In the women's team semi-finals, Uttar Pradesh beat Maharashtra 233-231 and Punjab, guided by Parneet, beat Delhi 233-226 to reach the final.

The compound results followed Thursday's recurve qualification, where Dhiraj Bommadevara and Kumkum Mohod also finished top of the men's and women's standings. Dhiraj, the World Cup Finals gold medallist, scored 680 with 24 Xs to lead Parth Salunkhe on 679, while Kumkum's 677 beat her previous career best of 671. The championship at the Parade Ground in Umsawli brings together the 46th Senior Recurve, 22nd Senior Compound and 33rd Senior Indian Round national championships, and concludes on 17 November with 15 gold-medal matches.