Jamshedpur: Dola Banerjee created history on Saturday, clinching a gold medal at the archery World Cup final in Dubai’s Medinat Amphitheatre — an achievement unparalleled in Indian archery.

The call, which was to instantly become the buzz of the city, came around 5.30pm (IST) at Banerjee family’s Baranagar residence. It was short and sweet: “Ami jite gechhi… Darun lagchhe,” Dola told her parents (Ashok and Kalpana).

The ace Indian archer pipped second-seeded South Korean Choi Eun Young 110-109 to emerge champion in the 12-arrow contest. The win earned her a prize purse of $10,000. In the semi-finals, the 27-year-old had shown World No.1 Natalya Erdyniyeva of Russia the door with a 108-106 victory.

Having won a gold medal in the fourth leg of the World Cup at Dover in England, the world number four (before this meet) earned 25 points (overall 37) and cemented a place in the World Cup final, which is held between the winners of the four World Cups.

In the fourth leg of World Cup, Dola had beaten Zhang in a thrilling 111-110 finish. She garnered 37 points despite missing the second and third legs and was placed fourth among the finalists. The first three legs of the World Cup were held in Ulsan (South Korea), Varese (Italy) and Antalya (Turkey). Dola had logged 12 points in the Ulsan leg.

The Arjuna awardee was tense and nervous before setting off for Dubai on November 22. Having changed her equipment owing to a crack in the handle, she struggled with the new one, recalled brother Rahul, who trains with her at Tata Archery Academy (TAA) in Jamshedpur.

“Didi was tense… So we would practise under lights very late. That was natural since she just got one day with the new equipment,” Rahul said from Jamshedpur. “But I was confident especially when she called me in the afternoon to convey the news of her entering the final… She promised a surprise gift for me. I’ll go to receive her tomorrow (Sunday) evening,” an elated Rahul added.

Not surprisingly, for TAA too, it was time to celebrate. “It’s a big achievement and this boosts our medal chances in the Beijing Olympics. Dola has made us all proud,” said coach Sanjeeva Singh, who had trained Dola from 1988-2001.

Dola has also trained under Dharmendra Tiwari and Purnima Mahto who, incidentally, is accompanying her in Dubai. She started training under Korean coach Lim Chae Woong from 2004.

Dola is employed with Eastern Railway, Howrah.