Archery Hat-Trick! India Defend All Three Compound Team Gold Medals

The Indian women's compound team with its gold medal.© X (Formerly Twitter)

India's compound archers displayed admirable poise under pressure to complete a golden sweep in the Asian Games team competitions, successfully defending their crowns in the men's, women's and mixed events here on Wednesday with performances that ranged from dominant to gritty. The cherry on top was the mixed combination of Chikitha Taniparthi and Sahil Jadhav also securing an Olympic quota place for the country following their top finish. India thus became the first country to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in the compound mixed team event, which will mark the discipline's debut at the Los Angeles Games.

The women's trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Chikitha and Prithika Pradeep kicked off the gold rush that culminated with the men's combination of Kushal Dalal, Sahil Jadhav and Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru rallying to outwit the Chinese trio of Jiahao Liao, Jinyi Liu and Jingyu Shi in the final, 238-237.

For Chikitha and Sahil, the day brought two gold medals as they had earlier shown nerves of steel to prevail over South Korea's Park Jungyoon and Choi Yonghee in a thrilling mixed team final, winning 158-157 after a shoot-off.

"It's awesome. We were so confident when we were playing team matches. I have trust in my teammates, they have trust in me. We will shoot our best in any condition," Sahil said, summing up India's dominant performance after winning the men's team gold.

The Indian duo had entered the gold-medal match after beating Thailand 156-155 in the semifinals.

This was after the Indian women's compound team produced a sensational performance to outclass the Chinese trio of Wunier, Yue Wang and Fangyao Wei 238-234 and retain its gold with a world record-equalling score.

Jyothi, Chikitha and Prithika dominated the women's summit clash to secure the top spot on the podium. Of the three, Jyothi was also part of the gold-winning women's team in Hangzhou.

"We pushed each other and kept telling each other that we have to give our best. Even if we had one bad shot, a score of nine, we kept bucking each other up and saying, 'Get back to what you know best and keep focusing on that'," said Prithika after the final.

"I know it's a big tournament, but at the end of the day it's the same people, it's the same archery that I have to shoot. So I was just focusing on that, to be honest. But it feels really good to win gold with my teammates," she added.

The Indians equalled the world record held by South Korea. South Korea had set the mark during the Incheon Asian Games in 2014.

The team gold was a redemption of sorts for Jyothi, who had stunningly failed to defend her individual crown after a pre-quarterfinal loss to 14-year-old South Korean sensation Kang Yeon-seo.

The South Korean team comprising Park Jungyoon, Park Yerin and Kang Yeon-seo defeated Chinese Taipei to win the bronze medal.

"The competition was very good, both in the semifinal and final matches. We performed very well as a team and won the gold medal, so I feel very good," Jyothi said.

In the mixed team event, Games debutants Chikitha and Sahil started strongly, taking a 40-39 lead after producing a series of perfect 10s. They extended the advantage to two points by the second end.

A slip from Chikitha, who hit a 9, reduced India's lead to one point, with the Indian pair ahead 118-117 after the third end.

South Korea then produced a perfect score, leaving India needing two perfect 10s from their final two shots to force a shoot-off.

Chikitha again stumbled to a 9, but Sahil held his nerve to find the 10-ring and level the scores, forcing a shoot-off.

In the shoot-off, Chikitha and Sahil both struck 10s, while Choi could only manage a 9, sealing the gold for India.

"This is my first Asian Games and I won mixed and team gold medals. I could not have asked for more," said Chikitha.

"I did not have much time between the women's team gold and the mixed team final. I was in a rush and we only got time to sit down and prepare ourselves."

In the fourth end before the shoot-off, Chikitha and Sahil shot a 9 each.

Asked about the slip, she said, "I was like, what will happen next? In the shoot-off, I was like, I have to give my best. I tried to be calm and followed my process.

"Then I shot a 10. After shooting that, I felt like I didn't shoot so close. Things were running through my mind but we got the gold."

She said she was trying not to think too much about the women's team gold during the mixed team final.

"I was not thinking about all those things. I was just thinking about how I was shooting in the team matches and how I could do better in the next matches."

Earlier in the women's team final, the Indian trio brought its A-game to the fore, taking the opening end 60-58 with a series of perfect 10s.

The defending champions continued to dominate, taking the second end 60-58 to extend their lead before consolidating their position further at 178-176 heading into the final end.

China crumbled under pressure with two 9s, while India produced yet another perfect round with six 10s to not only defend the title but also equal the world record.

India had won five gold medals in archery at the last edition, including the compound mixed team event.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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