India achieved a historic milestone at the Asian Archery Championships in Dhaka on Friday, with B. Dhiraj and Ankita Bhakat becoming the first-ever Indian male and female recurve archers, respectively, to win individual gold medals at the event.
Ankita secured the biggest win of her career by stunning Paris Olympic silver medallist Nam Suhyeon of South Korea 7-3 in a tense five-set final. Dhiraj completed a sweep of the recurve individual titles by defeating compatriot Rahul 6-2 in the men’s final.
The individual golds were part of a wider Indian dominance, which included a victory in the Men's Recurve Team Final. The trio of Yashdeep Bhoge, Atanu Das, and Rahul defeated the formidable Korean team of Seo Mingi, Kim Yeachan, and Jang Jiho in a thrilling shoot-off to secure a 5-4 victory.
The Indians won the shoot-off based on having the arrow closest to the center after both teams tied with scores of 29. This gold medal ended Korea’s long-standing 12-year streak as recurve men’s team champions, marking a strategic achievement for India.
Ankita Bhakat, who returned from the Paris Olympics under scrutiny for missing crucial shots, demonstrated remarkable mental composure in the final. After being level at 3-all, the 27-year-old responded decisively by shooting four 10s in the final sets, holding her nerve to shoot a crucial nine on the final arrow needed to win the match.
The final gold was also India's first in the recurve women's individual event. In the all-Indian women's recurve bronze medal match, Sangeeta prevailed over five-time Olympian Deepika Kumari 6-5 in a shoot-off.
Dhiraj's victory in the men's event was part of India's domination of the recurve category. En route to the final, he showed resilience to overcome Korea’s Jang Chae-hwan 6-2 in the semifinals before facing his compatriot Rahul. Overall, India and powerhouse Korea were tied with 10 medals apiece at the championships. However, India took the top spot in the medal tally by claiming six gold medals against Korea’s two.
While the recurve events were a complete success for India, the Mixed Team event saw disappointment as India finished fourth after being clean swept by the Korean pair of Jang Minhee and Seo Mingi in the bronze medal match.