Hyderabad, Oct 13 — Bouncing back after a poor run of results, the defending champions Rajputana Royals made it back-to-back wins with a classy display against high-flying Chero Archers in Season 2 of the Archery Premier League (APL) in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The Royals, who went through a rut with three straight defeats before turning it around on Monday, were in terrific rhythm as they thrashed Chero 6-0 without dropping a set.
The result moved Royals to six points, keeping them firmly in semifinals contention while Chero also remained 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.
Archery Premier League (APL), the world's first franchise-based archery league, is initiated by the Archery Association of India and comprises six teams and a total of 48 archers, with 36 Indians and 12 elite international stars. 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.
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.
On Wednesday, the first match is set to be a cracking contest between Chero Archers and Prithviraaj Yodhas, their previous match going into multiple Sudden Death situations before the Yodhas came through in style. In the second match, Kakatiya Knights take on Rajputana Royals, and the action will come to a close with a clash between Chola Chiefs and Mighty Marathas.