IMAGE: Rajputana Royals enjoyed a fine run, losing only once in 12 matches, in the inaugural edition of the Archery Premier League. Photograph: Archery Premier League/X
Rajputana Royals of Rajasthan were on Sunday crowned champions of the inaugural Archery Premier League after beating home favourites Prithviraaj Yodhas in a dramatic shoot-off in New Delhi.
The high-voltage final at the Yamuna Sports Complex saw both teams locked 4-4 after four fiercely-contested sets, before the Royals’ star compound archers — Ojas Deotale and Ella Gibson — struck gold in the tie-breaker, hitting the target when it mattered the most.
None of the four Yodhas’ archers found the yellow dot in the shoot-off held in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
The result was fitting for the Royals, who lost only once in 12 matches through the season.
Their title-winning quartet of Tokyo Olympic champion Mete Gazoz, Ankita Bhakat, Gibson, and Deotale combined superbly to deny the Yodhas, who were led by senior compound ace Abhishek Verma alongside Matias Grande, Gatha Khadake, and Andrea Becerra.
The Yodhas, however, became the first team in the tournament to produce a perfect eight-arrow rotation — all 10s — en route to winning the third set 80-77 and taking a 4-2 lead.
The opening set had also gone the Yodhas’ way by a slender 78-77 margin after one of Khadake’s arrows was upgraded on review.
The Royals hit back immediately to take the second set 78-75.
After the Yodhas’ perfect 80, the match went down to the wire in the fourth set, where Grande needed a 9 to clinch the title but managed only an 8, allowing the Royals to win the set 78-77 and force the shoot-off.
Gibson and Deotale then sealed the championship with two flawless hits.
Earlier in the day, the Royals had stormed into the final after a commanding 5-1 win over the Chero Archers, dropping just six points across three sets (78-78, 79-77, 77-75).
Deotale and Gibson were again in imperious touch, with Gazoz sealing the win with a 10 off the last arrow.
The second semi-final between the Yodhas and Mighty Marathas was a thriller in itself, decided after a remeasure by the judges in the fourth set that gave Yodhas a 5-3 victory.
The contest swung back and forth as Mike Schloesser’s perfect scoring for the Marathas kept them in the hunt. The Yodhas took the first set 78-74, the Marathas replied 79-76, and Verma’s precision helped the Yodhas regain the lead 4-2 after a 78-74 win in the third.
The Marathas thought they had levelled the match in the fourth set, but a remeasure upgraded a Yodhas arrow to make it 78-78, sealing their place in the final.
