Back in the old hard coal mine, Zeche Zollverein played host to the final of the individual men’s compound where Ajay scott picked up his second medal of the competition.
But first we started at Sportpark Am Hallo Stadion where Ajay’ competition started off on July 22 in ranking round where Ajay scored 704 and placed fourth in the rankings going into the knockout stages. Up first was an athlete from Malaysia, a tight affair saw Ajay edge out the win by one point and process into the next round finishing 144-145 in Ajay’s favour.
France was up next and again another really right affair with the French dropping points in the third set against Ajay’s score and giving him the opportunity to take the win in regulation play but in the final set the roles were revered and with Ajay dropping a point set up a tie beaker. Ajay came out on top and set up a quarter final tie against Korea.
Ajay had a near perfect match only dropping points in the third set giving him the win 146-148 and moving onto the semi finals. This is where we move into the picturesque setting of Zeche Zollverein where you are surround by old mining machinery which towers above you as you shoot arrows. With an eye on the final later in the day Ajay didn’t hang around at all and made sure his opponent knew he was here to take the win. A drop point in the first and third set saw Ajay finish everything else perfectly taking the win 145-148 and progressing to the gold medal match.
A large and raucous crowd full of Ajay’s peers was in full spirits as Ajay walked through the smoke and fire to enter the field of play to face off against the man from India. A perfect first set from both athletes left the scores at 30-30 but in the second Ajay hit a 9 and let the Indian take a small advantage as we moved on through into the next. The next two sets were again both perfect which raised cheers from the crowds as we entered into the final set. A dropped point from each competitor saw the final score end 148-149 in favour of the athlete from India, with Ajay taking home the silver medal.
Not a bad week all round for the Student from Kent who will be taking home a bronze and silver medal from Rhine-Ruhr 2025.
