India delivered a historic performance at the Asian Archery Championships in Dhaka on Tuesday, with five Indian women advancing to the individual semifinals across the compound and recurve events. This moment in the competition’s history guarantees India at least one medal in the Women's Recurve category.
The display speaks of the progress and growth within India’s national archery program, with multiple archers overcoming highly-ranked Korean opposition to rewrite the competitive narrative.
The Women's Recurve event witnessed an unprecedented sweep as three Indian archers stormed into the semifinals. Ankita Bhakat delivered the match of the day, staging a comeback from 0–4 down to stun top seed Jang Minhee of South Korea 6–4. She will now face a challenging all-Indian clash against veteran Deepika Kumari, who booked her spot with a 7–3 victory over Korea’s Lee Gahyun. Rounding out the trio is Sangeeta, who defeated Iran’s Zare Rehyane 7–1 and will face Nam Suhyeon of South Korea next, ensuring India occupies three of the four semifinal slots.
In the Women’s Compound event, two Indian archers secured their places in the last four. Jyothi Surekha Vennam, defeated South Korea’s Oh Yoohyun 147–145 to seal her spot. She will now meet Si-Yu Chen of Chinese Taipei.
Joining her is Prithika Pradeep, who edged past compatriot Chikitha Taniparthi 148–146 in a closely fought quarterfinal. Prithika's next opponent is Bangladesh’s Most Kulsam Akther Mone. The success of both compound archers adds to India's medal prospects.
The collective achievement, particularly the three semifinalists in women's recurve, is a landmark moment for Indian archery. Deepika Kumari showed maturity and controlled grouping to manage her matches, while Ankita Bhakat and Sangeeta exhibited the toughness and steady tempo required at the elite level. The focus now shifts to the medal rounds, where the Indian archers will look to convert this into multiple podium finishes.
