New Delhi [India], October 3 : World No.1 men's recurve archer Brady Ellison of the USA was in top form for the Chola Chiefs, even as Indian ace Deepika Kumari remained hot and cold in the opening match on day two of the Archery Premier League (APL) at the Yamuna Sports Complex in Delhi on Friday, which saw the Chola Chiefs registering their second consecutive win with a 6-2 victory over the Prithviraaj Yodhas.
Besides Ellison's top form, the other deciding factor of the game could be when recurve archer Gatha Khadake of the Yodhas was timed out twice in the first and fourth sets. As a result, she couldn't complete her last shot. Each shooter gets 15 seconds to shoot their four arrows.
Like Ellison for the Chiefs, the captain of the Yodhas and compound archer Abhishek Verma was in top form but didn't get consistent support from Gatha and Matias Grande, while Andrea Becera had a decent match.
While Ellison and Kumari strategically shot last for the Chief, Rishabh Yadav gave good support to Ellison, rising up to the occasion whenever required. Meeri-Marita Paas was the fourth member of the Chiefs' playing team.
The Chiefs won the first set 72-69, but the Yodhas came back to win the second 74-73 and level it at 2-2. However, the Chiefs held their nerves to clinch the next two sets 77-73 and 78-68 to win 6-2 and make it 4/4 points from two matches. The Chero Archers beat Kakatiya Knights 5-1 in the second match, winning it in three sets - 74-74, 78-73, 71-67.
The day's last match saw the Rajputana Royals getting the better of Mighty Marathas 6-2. The scoreline read 77-75, 77-73, 74-77, 79-76. At the end of the second day of the inaugural APL, the Royals and the Chiefs have four points each with two wins apiece; however, the Royals lead the table, ahead on sets won/lost difference. While the Royals have won 12 and lost 2 sets, the Chiefs have won 11 and lost 3.
The Marthas and the Chero Archers have two points each. Lying at the bottom of the table are the Yodhas and the Knights, who have yet to open their account, each having lost both their respective matches.
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