India Ends Korean Dominance in Compound Archery at Asian Games

In a remarkable achievement, India secured a clean sweep of gold medals in all five categories of compound archery at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. This triumph marked a significant shift in the discipline, bringing an end to Korea’s dominance in compound archery at the Asian Games.

Over the weekend, India’s Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Pravin Deotale clinched gold medals in the women’s and men’s individual competitions. A few days earlier, India had already claimed gold medals in the Men’s and Women’s Team competitions.

In the finals, the women’s team edged out Chinese Taipei 159-158, while the men’s team triumphed over Korea. Ojas Pravin Deotale emerged victorious against his senior teammate Abhishek Verma in the Compound Men’s Individual final, and Jyothi Surekha Vennam secured the Women’s Individual gold medal by defeating South Korea’s So Chaewon.

In addition to the five gold medals, India also earned a silver and a bronze in compound archery. Abhishek Verma finished as the runner-up in the Compound Men’s Individual event, while Aditi Gopichand Swami secured bronze in the Women’s Individual category.

However, India’s performance in the individual section of recurve archery was not as successful. Both Atanu Das and Dhiraj Bommadevara suffered quarterfinal defeats in shoot-offs, starting slowly and scoring low points. Bommadevara’s two zero scores in the quarterfinals were seen as a missed opportunity. Nonetheless, the Indian teams secured medals in the recurve section, with the men’s team winning silver and the women’s team claiming bronze.

It was the compound archers who shone brightly at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, signaling a changing of the guard in the discipline. Compound archery is not part of the Olympics program for Paris 2024 but is expected to be included in the next edition, scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028.

India’s supremacy in compound archery comes as no surprise, given that the country had already secured both men’s and women’s titles at the World Championships held in Berlin a few months earlier.

Sergio Paagni, the team’s foreign coach from Italy, expressed confidence in their victory, stating, “We already knew (we would win). We have won all this season, we were the team to beat. Even if it is the first gold medal for India in the Asian Games, we won all season.”

Sanjeeva Kumar Singh, the High-Performance Director of the Indian archery teams, attributed the success to a development program initiated in 2004. He highlighted the role of the Indian government’s substantial financial support, including funds from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which has contributed significantly to the development of archery in India.

Singh also emphasized the depth of talent in India and the benefits of a multi-pronged approach, including changes in the selection process and continuous international exposure.

While India’s compound archery success is celebrated, there is a growing call for similar attention and investment in the recurve archery discipline to achieve a similar revolution.