Kakatiya Knights tops standings as second round-robin stage concludes
The second round-robin phase of the Archery Premier League season two was completed on Saturday (17 October), with Kakatiya Knights finishing top of the standings after a commanding 6-0 victory over Mighty Marathas.
Prithviraaj Yodhas also kept their title hopes alive with two crucial wins at the People’s Plaza in Hyderabad.
With both teams already assured of the top two positions, Saturday's encounter served as a dress rehearsal for Sunday's first qualifier.
Austrian compounder Nico Wiener and India's Jyothi Surekha Vennam led the way for Knights, both shooting a perfect 60 out of 60 despite gusty conditions.
Marathas, who rested Dhiraj Bommadevara at the start, struggled to find their rhythm and scored below 70 in each of the opening two sets.
The introduction of Bommadevara and Mexico's Alejandra Valencia helped them improve to 74 in the third, but Knights responded with 78 to complete the 6-0 sweep.
Knights had rested its in-form recurver Neeraj Chauhan, giving the home franchise another confidence boost ahead of the decisive rematch.
Meanwhile, Yodhas produced two impressive performances to extend their campaign into the final day.
Needing victory over Rajputana Royals to remain in contention, Yodhas delivered a 6-0 win before returning to the field to face Chero Archers in the first eliminator.
Sixteen-year-old recurve archer Gatha Khadake and Mexican world number two compounder Andrea Becerra were instrumental in both victories.
Khadake shot 56 out of 60 in each match and was named the day's best recurve female archer, while Becerra was flawless across the two contests, finishing with a perfect 120 out of 120.
Against Chero, Yodhas shared the opening set 75-75 before taking control of the contest.
Becerra and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru helped Yodhas win the second set 77-74, while Khadake and Matias Grande contributed to an impressive 79 in the third, against Chero's 75, to seal a 5-1 victory.
Chero had earlier secured their place in the eliminator with a dramatic shoot-off victory over Chola Chiefs after the teams finished level at 4-4. World number one compounder Mathias Fullerton was the only archer to find the inner yellow ring in the hit-or-miss tie-breaker.
Yodhas will now face the loser of Sunday's opening qualifier between Knights and Marathas, with the winner advancing to the final later that day.
The second season of the Archery Premier League features six franchises and 48 archers, including 36 Indian athletes and 12 international stars, competing in a mixed recurve and compound team format.
The season concludes on Sunday (18 October), when the remaining three teams compete for the title.
