Archery Premier League: Prithviraaj Yodhas Edge Chero Archers in Sudden Death; Mighty Marathas Bounce Back

Hyderabad, Oct 10: Prithviraaj Yodhas handed Chero Archers their first defeat of the Archery Premier League Season 2 after a tense contest that required multiple sudden-death rounds at People's Plaza on Saturday.

The Yodhas fought back to level the match at 4-4 by winning the fourth set before prevailing in a dramatic tiebreaker. The first tiebreaker ended without a winner, as all four archers from both teams missed the inner yellow ring.

The contest then moved into sudden death, where archers from both sides took turns in an immediate hit-or-miss showdown. Mexican recurve star Matias Grande eventually delivered the decisive inner-ring hit in the third sudden-death round, while Prithika Pradeep failed to connect for Chero, sealing the victory for the Yodhas.

Chero's Kumkum Mohod, competing for the first time after her gold-medal-winning run at the Asian Games, produced some impressive shots but could not prevent her team's first loss of the tournament.

Earlier in the day, Mighty Marathas bounced back from defeats in their opening two matches with a commanding 6-0 victory over Chola Chiefs, securing their first win of the campaign without dropping a set.

Dutch compound archery star Mike Schloesser, popularly known as 'Mr. Perfect', lived up to his reputation by hitting the 10-point zone with all six of his arrows. Indian recurve archer Dhiraj Bommadevara also played a key role, producing a crucial 10 under time pressure in the second set to help the Marathas take a 4-0 lead.

The Marathas narrowly won the opening set 74-73 despite a couple of 8-point shots from their recurve archers. Chola Chiefs struggled to build scoreboard pressure, with Chikitha Taniparthi recording two 9s in each of the first two sets.

The Marathas sealed the contest in the third set, winning 74-72 as Deepika Kumari and Marcus D'Almeida were unable to maintain the pressure for the Chiefs.

In another encounter, defending champions Rajputana Royals suffered their second consecutive defeat, going down to Kakatiya Knights, who enjoyed strong support from the home crowd at People's Plaza on Necklace Road.

The action continues on Sunday, with Chero Archers taking on Kakatiya Knights, Chola Chiefs facing Prithviraaj Yodhas, and Mighty Marathas meeting defending champions Rajputana Royals.