India's Deepika Kumari held her nerves in an intriguing play-off to down Lisa Unruh and win the bronze medal in the Archery World Cup Finals here Sunday.
Both the players were tied at 5-5 at the end of five sets, which necessitated a shoot-off. Kumari and Unruh both shot 9 but Kumari won bronze because her arrow was closer to the centre. This was Kumari's fifth World Cup Finals podium.
A draw would have been enough for Kumari to seal the issue in the fifth set, but in the absence of a coach the Indian struggled to keep pace with the timing and shot wide.
Kumari, a veteran in the World Cup Finals with four silver medals, came out on top in the shoot-off.
"This was for the first time I shot at a big competition like this without a coach. But I'm very happy. The stronger the competition, the better we get," Kumari said.
Shoot-off was tense and Kumari said she "started panicking" but motivated herself with no coach to look up to.
"Most of the times, I end up losing a shoot-off so I started panicking. I told myself, 'I will accept whatever be the result. I will just give my best shot. I'm satisfied with the arrow," she said after the thrilling win.
"Before the Asian Games, I had dengue fever and then I lost my strength. I could not even draw my bow. After the Asian Games, I took a break of 15 days before coming here," Kumari, who returned empty-handed from the Indonesia Asian Games, said.
"I'm happy for the bronze. I wish I could convert this silver/bronze medals into a gold sometime."
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