Archery World Cup Madrid: Jyothi Vennam and Parneet storm into semifinals

Indian women compound archers continue its resurgence on the international stage, with Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Parneet Kaur powering into the semifinals of the individual competition at the Archery World Cup 2025 in Madrid.

Earlier this week, India had already secured a spot in the compound women’s team final, with Jyothi, Parneet, and Prithika Pradeep edging past Indonesia 230–226 in the semifinals. The trio will face Chinese Taipei in the gold medal match on July 12.

While the women led the charge, the men’s individual campaign ended in disappointment, with none of the Indian compound archers making it past the Round of 32.

The individual women’s journey started with a setback, as Prithika Pradeep was eliminated in the Round of 64, losing narrowly 140–142 to Claudia María De La Cruz of Guatemala.

However, the remaining trio of Jyothi, Parneet, and Chikitha Taniparthi advanced through the Round of 32 with confident shooting.

In the Round of 16, Chikitha fell 142–145 to Paris Paralympic champion Oznur Cure Girdi of Turkey in a closely fought match. Meanwhile, Jyothi and Parneet continued their strong performances, advancing to the quarterfinals with consistent form.

In the quarterfinals, India’s top-ranked archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam delivered a clinical performance to beat Turkey’s Hazal Burun 147–144.

Parneet Kaur, meanwhile, stunned Oznur Cure Girdi 142–141 to reach her first-ever World Cup individual semifinal, marking a career milestone.

The semifinals, set for Saturday, 12 July, will see Jyothi take on Korea’s Han Seungyeon while Parneet will face British star Ella Gibson. A potential all-India final is now within reach.

In contrast, India’s compound men had a forgettable outing. Prathamesh Fuge bowed out in the Round of 64, narrowly losing 148–149 to Francois Dubois of France.

In the Round of 32, Rishabh Yadav lost 141–143 to Michea Godano (Italy), Aman Saini was defeated 144–145 by Martin Damsbo (Denmark), and Priyansh lost 145–147 to Elias Reyes Cravioto (Mexico).

This comes after the Indian men’s compound team also missed a podium finish earlier this week, falling 233–234 to France in the quarterfinals.

Despite being the top seed after an impressive 2135-point qualification round, they were edged out by a single point.

The mixed team elimination and the individual recurve elimination round, having top Indian archers like Deepika Kumari and Dhiraj Bommadevara, will kickoff on Friday.