Archery
Indian Archers secure two bronze medals, enter team finals at Asia Cup Stage 1
India’s recurve men and compound women teams progress to finals while two squads clinch bronze in Bangkok.
Chikitha Taniparthi becomes India's first female Junior compound World Champion. (Photo Credits: World Archery)
Indian archers delivered a mixed yet encouraging performance on the second day of the Asia Cup World Ranking Tournament Stage 1 in Bangkok, securing two bronze medals while also advancing to two team finals.
The women’s compound team, comprising Chikitha Taniparthi, Raj Kaur and Tejal Salve, booked a place in the final after edging hosts Thailand 229-226 in a closely contested semifinal. The Indian trio showed composure under pressure to overcome the home favourites and will now face Kazakhstan in the gold medal clash. The result marks an improvement from their bronze medal finish in the previous edition.
In contrast, the men’s compound team had to settle for bronze despite entering the knockout rounds as strong contenders. Rajat Chauhan, Rishabh Yadav and Uday Kamboj, who dominated the qualification stage, suffered a narrow 233-234 defeat to Vietnam in the semifinal. After starting strongly, the Indians lost momentum as their opponents produced back-to-back perfect ends to overturn a five-point deficit. India later recovered to defeat Bhutan 234-232 and secure a podium finish.
Recurve teams impress with final and Bronze finish
India also impressed in the recurve events. The men’s recurve team of Devaang Gupta, Sukhchain Singh and Juyel Sarkar advanced to the final with a convincing 5-1 win over Malaysia. The top-seeded Indian side maintained control throughout the match and will take on Kazakhstan for the title.
Meanwhile, the women’s recurve team of Ruma Biswas, Kirti and Ridhi Phor claimed bronze with a 5-1 victory over Malaysia.
The team delivered a consistent performance to secure a podium finish after missing out in the previous edition.