APL Season 2: Mighty Marathas Go Top With Fourth Straight Victory; Knights, Royals Win Too

APL Season 2: Mighty Marathas go top with fourth straight victory; Knights, Royals win too (Mighty Marathas go top with fourth straight victory; Knights, Royals win too in Season 2 of the Archery Premier League (APL) in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Photo Credit - Archery Premier League)

In Jyothi Surekha Vennam:  Mighty Marathas and Kakatiya Knights seem to be peaking at the right time as they moved clear at the top of the table with eight points each, while Rajputana Royals made it back-to-back wins on the sixth day of Season 2 of Archery Premier League (APL) in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

While Royals and Knights blanked their opponents, Chero Archers and Chola Chiefs won 6-0, respectively; Marathas beat Yodhas 6-2.

Marathas’ recurve star Dhiraj Bommadevara was in terrific form, repeatedly shooting clutch 10s with barely any time left on the clock as the anchor for his side. At the top, ‘Mr. Perfect’ Mike Schloesser set up the sets well and finished with 78 out of the possible 80 points as Marathas’ stunning resurgence continues. They top the table ahead of Knights with only a set-points difference separating the two sides.

In the final match of the day, the Knights consigned Chola Chiefs to the bottom of the table as Nico Wiener and Neeraj Chauhan were both in terrific form at the start and end of the sets – both registering 59 out of 60 – while Spain’s recurve archer Elia Canales was an able support. In Jyothi Surekha Vennam’s absence, Avneet Kaur also stepped into the lineup admirably for the home franchise.

Archery Premier League (APL), the world's first franchise-based archery league, was started by the Archery Association of India and comprises six teams and a total of 48 archers -- 36 Indians and 12 elite international archers. The league, taking place at People's Plaza in Hyderabad, will culminate on October 18 with the grand finale featuring the top four teams in the semifinals, followed by the title clash.

In the first match, bouncing back after a poor run of results, defending champions Royals produced a classy display against high-flying Chero Archers. The Royals had gone through a rut with three straight defeats before turning it around on Monday, and were in terrific rhythm as they thrashed Chero 6-0 without dropping a set.

The result moved Royals to six points and keeps them firmly in semifinals contention, while Chero also remain on the same tally. The star of the show for Royals was compound world No. 1 Ella Gibson, who didn’t leave the 10-ring at all and scored 60 out of a possible 60.

Chero, who went back to their recurve international archer in Casey Kaufhold ahead of Kumkum Mohod, lost the first set 73-74 after the American started with a costly 7. In the second set, Royals edged ahead 76-75 with Chero paying the price for a couple of 9s from their compound archers.

The third set was tied at 58-58 after six arrows each, and then Atanu Das, who has otherwise been in fine form when selected, hit a rare 8. For Royals, Sangeeta – who was playing her first match in place of Ankita Bhakat – responded with a sensational 10. With an 8 needed to win, Tokyo Olympic champion Mete Gazoz delivered a 9 and brought out his signature celebration and some thigh-fives with his team.

"We didn't start well over the first four days. I guess everybody misses us because I think the APL needs more energy and more dancing and now we’re giving that," Gazoz quipped after the win.

In the match between Marathas and Yodhas, Bommadevara finished the first and second sets with 10s and did so with barely any time left on the clock. While they suffered a dip in the third set and shot just 70, the rest of the match was pretty high quality from the Marathas, who had Madhura Dhamgaonkar and Simranjeet Kaur chipping in with solid scores.

In the final match, Chiefs – who brought back recurve stars Deepika Kumari and Marcus D’Almeida into the starting lineup – continued to stumble as the Knights clean-swept the match. There was, however, one impeccable set from both sides, which finished 79-78 in favour of the Knights.

In the match between Marathas and Yodhas, Bommadevara finished the first and second sets with 10s and did so with barely any time left on the clock. While they suffered a dip in the third set and shot just 70, the rest of the match was pretty high quality from the Marathas, who had Madhura Dhamgaonkar and Simranjeet Kaur chipping in with solid scores.

Article Source: IANS