Prithika Pradeep, a 17-year-old archer, made a mark at the Archery World Cup in Madrid by clinching an individual bronze and contributing to India’s silver in the women’s compound team event. In her debut World Cup podium appearance, Prithika secured the bronze by defeating Turkiye’s Hazal Burun 145-142. She had earlier narrowly missed the final, losing 144-142 to Malaysia’s Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh.
This achievement adds to Prithika’s silver at the Asian Archery Championships in Dhaka last year, solidifying her position as a rising star among India’s compound archers. Alongside experienced archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Chikitha Taniparthi, Prithika helped India finish as runners-up in the women’s compound team event, falling short against Colombia in the final.
Despite starting as the seventh seed, the Indian team displayed a commendable performance, defeating strong opponents like Denmark and Republic of Korea on their path to the final. In the men’s compound team event, India narrowly missed a medal, losing the bronze medal match to Germany by a single point.
Rishabh Yadav stood out in the men’s individual compound competition, reaching the quarter-finals, while other Indian contenders exited in the third round. The Indian campaign in Madrid continues with medal chances in the recurve events, with Kirti Sharma advancing to the women’s individual semi-finals and partnering with Dhiraj Bommadevara in the mixed team bronze medal match against Italy.
