Asian Games 2026: Debutant Neeraj Chauhan stuns Korean in recurve; Dhiraj, Kumkum too in quarters
A day after a Korean upset an Indian in their stronger discipline, an Indian archer returned the favour to a Korean in their dominant suit.
Neeraj Chauhan, in his first Asian Games, stunned South Korea's Kim Je-deok, a three-time Olympic medallist, 6-4 to storm into the quarter-finals of the men's individual recurve event at Aichi-Nagoya on Tuesday.
Dhiraj Bommadevara, the World Cup Finals champion and qualification topper who appears in fine form as India's best recurve hope, will join him in the last eight to fight for a medal. In the women's individual section, India's 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod booked her place in the quarter-finals after breezing past Bangladesh's 14-year-old Saima Salahuddin 6-0, while Kirti lost to Korea's seasoned Kang Chae-young 7-3 in her 1/8 elimination round.
In an event where both Indian men crashed out in the quarter-finals in Hangzhou three years ago, the country's recurve archers have an opportunity to push beyond in Aichi-Nagoya.
More so after what Chauhan managed to produce against Je-deok. The 24-year-old had a tough 6-4 win over Indonesia's Riau Ega Agatha in the 1/16 elimination round before running into the reigning World Championships bronze medallist.
The Indian delivered a perfect 30 to take the first game and split the second 29-29. Three superb shots from the experienced Korean secured a 30-29 third game, bringing him level in the contest. Another split 29-29 game meant the scores were tied 4-4 heading into the decider. Chauhan held his nerve, shooting two 10s and a 9, while Je-deok faltered with an 8 off the final shot. With the big win (30-28, 29-29, 29-30, 29-29, 29-27) under his belt, Chauhan will take on Bhutan's Paris Olympian Lam Dorji for a place in the last four.
Hailing from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Chauhan's father worked as a cook at the mess of Kailash Prakash Stadium. The family went through difficult times during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Chauhan and his brother, a budding boxer, forced to sell vegetables for a period to make ends meet. Once things settled, the archer joined the Sports Authority of India's Sonipat centre, where coach Jitendra Chauhan guided his progression.
Bommadevara has progressed significantly since the previous Asian Games and is expected to make a charge toward an individual medal. India's most in-form archer swept past The Philippines' Nigel Garcia 6-0 in the pre-quarters and Chinese Taipei's Cheng Hsiang-Hui 6-2 in the quarters. He will face Uzbekistan's Amirkhon Sadikov in the last eight. Should he advance, the Paris Olympian is likely to run into the only Korean left in the draw, Paris bronze medallist Lee Woo-seok.
Young Kumkum will face an uphill task against Korea's Kang in the quarters. The business end of the recurve individual event is scheduled on October 3.
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