On Thursday, 12 October, the Mighty Marathas and Kakatiya Knights bounced back from a brief setback to clinch the first and second positions in the Archery Premier League (APL) Season 2 league phase, the competition being staged at People's Plaza in Hyderabad.
The Marathas delivered a flawless 6-0 victory over the Chero Archers, while the Knights edged out Prithviraaj Yodhas 6-2 in what many observers called the match of the day. Both winners now sit on 12 points, a tally that the remaining four franchises cannot match at this stage.
Earlier in the schedule, the Chola Chiefs, already out of playoff contention, handed the Rajputana Royals a damaging defeat, leaving the Royals, Chero, and Yodhas locked at 8 points each. With only one round left, the race for the third and fourth playoff spots remains extremely tight.
The Knights’ triumph over last season’s finalists Yodhas showcased a dramatic series of sets. Neeraj Chauhan opened the contest with a 77-74 win in the first set. The second set featured a rare sequence of eight arrows—X, X, 9, 10, 9, 10, 9, 9—mirrored by both teams, resulting in a split. The third set ended 67-67, with Matias Grande and Neeraj Chauhan each firing an X on the final arrow to preserve the Knights’ two‑point edge. In the decisive fourth set, Chauhan missed the inner ring by a whisker, scoring 79 and securing the overall win.
For the Marathas, Dhiraj Bommadevara returned to the lineup alongside recurve archer Alejandra Valencia and compound shooter Aman Saini, all performing strongly to complete the 6-0 sweep. Chero’s Mathias Fullerton recorded a perfect 60, but his teammates could not maintain consistency.
The APL, the world’s first franchise‑based archery league, features six teams, 48 archers (36 Indians and 12 elite internationals), and will conclude with a grand finale on 18 October. A revamped playoff format rewards the top two league finishers with two chances to qualify for the final, while the third and fourth placed teams will contest an Eliminator match on the penultimate day.
Image: mangalorean.com
📰 Source: Mangalorean News