APL Season 2: Chola Chiefs play spoilsports, beat Rajputana Royals with new tactic
Hyderabad, Oct 16 (IANS) They may be out of contention for a place in the playoffs, but Chola Chiefs played spoilsports for the second straight evening, this time handing Rajputana Royals a damaging defeat in Season 2 of the Archery Premier League (APL) in Hyderabad on Friday.
The result puts Rajputana Royals’ chances of defending their title under threat as they remain on 8 points with only one match left to play. Chiefs move to six points, but their set points difference is too steep for them to have a chance to qualify in the top four, and they will finish their season on Saturday regardless.
While they have struggled for consistency, Chiefs have shown that they are adaptable with the shooting order, as they showed earlier in the season too by going with compound archers back-to-back at the start of the sets.
This time around, they opted to field the in-form Alejandra Usquiano and veteran Rajat Chauhan as their anchors in each of the sets, while the recurve archers shot before them.
Usquiano, who scored a perfect 80 on Thursday and then shot the bull’s eye in the shootoff too, was once again in impeccable form, shooting 79 out of 80 on Friday. Before she hit her first 9, she shot six 10s and five of those arrows were in the X-ring.
Rajat later said he had suggested to the coaches that they follow this new order for the match, and they were happy to oblige. He added that he has the experience of being the closing shooter for the Indian compound team internationally for many years.
Archery Premier League, the world’s first franchise-based archery league, is initiated by the Archery Association of India and comprises six teams and a total of 48 archers, with 36 Indians and 12 elite international stars. The league, taking place at People’s Plaza in Hyderabad, will culminate on October 18 with the grand finale.
The second season of APL will also have a new playoffs format that rewards teams finishing higher in the league standings and ensures competitive fairness. The sides that finish first and second will have two shots at qualifying for the grand final on Sunday, while the team finishing third and fourth will face off in Eliminator 1 on the penultimate day.
In the first set of the match, Royals were off to a poor start, managing only 69, with Tokyo Olympic champion Mete Gazoz finishing with a 6. The Royals fought back to take the second set comfortably, after Ella Gibson came in as the substitute for Swati Dudhwal.
But Chiefs, led by a perfect 40 from their compounds, took the third set. Then in the final set, Rajat Chauhan shot a clutch 9 with the final arrow to level the scores and hand his side a 5-3 win.
Saturday’s action – with four matches scheduled – will start with a potential face-off for the top spot between Mighty Marathas and Kakatiya Knights. Chola Chiefs, having already been eliminated, will play for pride against Chero Archers. The league phase will conclude with a rematch of the first season’s title clash where Rajputana Royals take on Pritvhiraaj Yodhas. The Eliminator 1 will immediately follow.
SCORES – DAY 8:
Match 1: Chola Chiefs beat 5-3 (77-69, 73-78, 76-74, 76-76) Rajputana Royals
–IANS
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