The seventeen-year-old Indian Komalika Bari defeated Japan's Waka Sonoda in the recurve cadet women's final to win a gold medal at the 2019 World Archery Youth Championships here on Sunday.
Bari won her first major event and became the third Indian archer to hold a world title.
She is the second Indian archer to become world champion in the Under-18 recurve women's category. Deepika Kumari held the title in 2009 and then won the junior (U21) gold in 2011.
She took a comfortable, 4-0, lead after the first two sets. Bari and Sonoda tied the third and the Indian archer moved within a single set point of victory.
Close to her maiden title, Bari loosened in the fourth and scored just 26. Her Japanese opponent did just enough to take the set.
"I'm feeling very nice because I won the world champs. It's also because of my coaches. They are very important," World Archery quoted Bari as saying.
"My shooting was falling apart. But then I knew I had to come back and I won the gold medal. I was just breathing very deeply so the tension went away. I told myself, be confident and you will be the champion," she added.
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