E-Paper
Pune archer Swapnil Dhamdhere helps Maharashtra clinch bronze at Senior National Championship
The Maharashtra women’s team, consisting of Purvasha Shende, Jayalakshmi Sarikonda, Snehal Mandhare and Isha Pawar win gold after defeating Manipur with a score of 223-216.
The City’s Swapnil Dhamdhere along with Purvasha Shende of Amravati won bronze medal in the 38th Senior National Archery tournament at the Army Sports Institute at Ghorpadi on Wednesday.
In the first round, the Maharashtra pair defeated Karnataka by three points and then went on to knock out the mighty Jharkhand team by two points. In a game of fine margins, the Maharashtra team failed to maintain their momentum, losing to Punjab by a single point in the semi-finals.
In the fight for bronze, Swapnil and Purvasha defeated Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) by three points.
Swapnil, despite winning a medal, was not satisfied with his performance since he failed to match his individual best. Swapnil along with Chandrapur’s Jayalakshmi Sarikonda had won gold in mixed event at the Senior nationals in 2016 in Meerut where he scored 157 out of 160, which remains a national record.
“In the initial rounds, I was struggling to find my rhythm. I gradually improved my performance, but failed to match my personal best. Now my focus is on the individual event. I haven’t won an individual medal in the senior national competition and I will do my best to change that here in Pune,” he said.
Swapnil, who has been competing in archery for eight years, has won several junior, senior and inter-university medals. He has participated in several international tournaments like the World University Championship in Mongolia in 2016, and the World University Championship in Poland in 2014. He was honoured with the state’s prestigious Shiv Chhatrapati award, the highest sporting honour for a sportsperson in Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra women’s team, consisting of Purvasha Shende, Jayalakshmi Sarikonda, Snehal Mandhare and Isha Pawar won gold after defeating Manipur with a score of 223-216. In the fight for bronze, All India Police Sports Control Board (AIPSCB) defeated Madhya Pradesh, with a score of 223-219.
