Indian archers script history in Para World C'ships, Shyam and Jyoti duo enter final

Dubai: India scripted history in the World Archery Para Championships here on Wednesday as the duo of Shyam Sundar Swami and Jyoti Baliyan assured the country of at least a silver medal by reaching the final of compound mixed team open event.

The Indian pair will face the Russian team in the summit clash on Friday.

Indian para archers have won medals in almost every single event since 2017, except in the World Championships.

The duo of Shyam Sundar and Jyoti Baliyan, who have previously won silver medals at the 2021 Fazza World Ranking event in the UAE and the 2019 Bangkok Asian Championships, downed the French pair of Julie Chupin and Thierry Joussaume 151-145 in the semifinal to assure at least a silver.

In the quarterfinals, they had pipped Maria Andrea Virgilio and Matteo Bonacina of Italy 147-146 in an intense match. They had started off defeating Iraq 151-138 in a lopsided contest. They Indian duo will take on the Russian Archery Federation on Friday in pursuit of a historic gold. "I am excited to be back on the shooting line and hope to go home with my first world championship medal," said Jyoti.