Happiness compounded, Indian archers sweep up 3 golds

Mumbai: After a rare 9 from an Indian archer’s bow at the Okazaki Central Park Multipurpose Square, Chikitha Taniparthi let out a little smile turning to the coach stationed behind her. There was something about India’s compound archers on Wednesday at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The women were grinning and giggling between ends. The men were high-fiving and first-bumping after matches.

“I can speak for myself – I was really having a good time shooting in the final,” Jyothi Surekha Vennam, India’s most experienced and accomplished compound archer, told HT from Aichi.

“I was just happy and not worried about anything else. I wanted to be there for the team, and for the team to do well.”

All Indian teams did just that. The compound archers swept all three gold medals up for grabs on the day, with the men’s, women’s and mixed teams whipping up a perfect golden dish for India. One (mixed) came with the added cream of an early Olympics ticket to 2028 Los Angeles.

Given the country’s compound grip across all five events in Hangzhou three years ago, this might seem par for the course, with individual events to come on Thursday. Yet, given Asia’s traditional recurve forces rising in compound after the Olympic stamp, it was no walk in the park.

The women’s team, comprising thrice Hangzhou gold medallist Jyothi with Games debutants Chikitha and Prithika Pradeep, just about edged past recurve powerhouses South Korea 234-233 in the semi-final before coming up with a world record-equalling score of 238 in their win over China (234).

China, in a rare occurrence, fielded their compound team in every World Cup stage this year. China beat the Indian men’s team in two World Cups in 2026. At the Asian Games, the Indians rallied to down them in the final 238-237, an 8 from a Chinese bow in the last set dragging them down. Sahil Jadhav, Kushal Dalal and Ganesh Thirumuru were producing 10s and Xs with fine frequency, even against South Korea in their 236-229 semi-final win.

The mixed event, where South Korea threw down the gauntlet with a world record score in the elimination rounds, could have gone anywhere after being 157-all in the final. Sahil and Chikitha delivered calm 10s in the shoot-off, while Choi Yong-hee sprayed a 9 off the last shot.

“It was an awesome performance,” Jiwanjot Singh Teja, India’s national coach, told HT. “At these Asian Games, all teams have good archers across both disciplines and all events. And our archers are doing well so far.”

Five of India’s six compound archers are Asian Games debutants. Sahil, 25, has more international experience compared to Kushal, 21, and Ganesh, 20. Chikitha, 21, is a junior world champion. Prithika, the youngest member at 18, showed composure on Wednesday and came through the trials days after scoring 93% in Class 12.

“If I like something, I do it happily,” Prithika told HT before the Asian Games.

Also shooting happily on the day was Jyothi, who brushed aside her individual elimination to turn up delivering all 10s across the semi-final and final.

“Just enjoying and being in the moment helped, I guess,” said Jyothi, who, at 30, added to her vast medal box. “We shot well in both the matches. After assessing the conditions in the semis, we came better prepared in the final.”

Indian archers have come prepared for greater tests at this Asian Games. In Hangzhou, India won seven medals in compound (five gold) and two in recurve. In Aichi-Nagoya, all recurve events will also feature Indians at the business end.

“Our primary aim is to match the five-gold performance in compound and nine medals overall,” Teja, a Dhronacharya awardee, said. “But we’ll do better than the previous time.”

Jyothi played a big part in that five-gold show. She played a big part in this team’s success. Standing atop an Asian Games podium was new for her teammates but even for Jyothi, now a four-time gold medallist, it felt special.

“I’m satisfied with the way I handled myself throughout the matches today, and I enjoyed the moment on the podium.”