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India’s Muskan Kirar wins first-ever indoor international

11 December 2022

Taipei, Chinese Taipei

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Muskan Kirar shoots at the 2022 Taipei Open.

India’s world number 31, Muskan Kirar, won the compound women’s title at the first Taipei Archery Open – her first appearance on the international indoor circuit – as she joined Mike and Gaby Schloesser, and Wei Chun-Heng atop the podium.

Kirar beat local archer Huang I-Jou with a better 10 in a tiebreak.

“It was a great experience,” said the 22-year-old. “I started practising one week ago. I didn’t shoot indoor; I only shoot outdoor. I just wanted to experience how these indoor tournaments come.”

Kirar’s previous individual success has come on the continental outdoor circuit. She has won two stages of the Asia Cup – one in 2018 and one in 2019.

Indoor archery is not popular in India or Taipei. The climates of each make outdoors an all-year-round proposition. So while Taipei was hosting its first big 18-metre tournament in a decade, visitor Muskan – on her debut in the discipline – was winning it.

It was a victorious first appearance on the Indoor Archery World Series for local archer and two-time Olympian Wei Chun-Heng. He beat top-seeded Chinese Taipei teammate Su Yu-Yang in the recurve men’s final.

Mike and Gaby Schloesser topped the compound men’s and recurve women’s events in Taipei.

“It’s the first time this season that we’ve both won a tournament,” said world number one Mike, who started his campaign at this competition with a perfect qualifying round.

“It was about time,” added Gaby.

Mike shot four comfortable elimination matches, eventually defeating Chen Chieh-Lun, 149-145, in the final.

Gaby’s run through the bracket might have been even more impressive. She dropped just eight points through four matches, winning three of them without letting her opponent on the scoreboard and the final with set scores of 30, 30 and 29 points.

Liu Shilin was her victim in the final.

“This season has already been excellent for me so I’m just really happy to be sharing this top spot with my husband,” said Gaby.

The third elite points event on this year’s Indoor Archery World Series is the Sud de France Archery Tournament in Nimes in January, which will also host the first Indoor Archery World Series Youth Finals in 2023.