Vijayawada, AP, India: At the Asian Archery Championship held in Bangladesh, Vijayawada’s young archer Bommadevara Dheeraj, a Telugu athlete, secured the gold medal in the men’s recurve individual category, earning the title of Asian Champion. In Friday’s final, Dheeraj delivered a strong performance by defeating fellow Indian archer Rahul with a score of 6-2. Across four sets, he dominated by winning two and drawing the other two. This victory marks Dheeraj’s first-ever gold medal at the Asian Championships, while Rahul finished with the silver.

A day earlier, India celebrated another major win as Jyothi Surekha Vennam captured gold medals in both the individual and team compound events.

India Shines With Gold in Men’s Recurve Team Event

The Indian men’s recurve team added to the medal tally with a thrilling gold medal victory. The trio of Atanu Das, Rahul, and Yashdeep defeated Korea’s team of Seo Mingyi, Kaechan, and Jung Jiho with a 5-4 finish. Despite trailing 2-4 earlier in the match, India made a strong comeback.

The tense final was locked at four set points each, and the shoot-off ended 29-29. The deciding moment came when Atanu Das delivered a near-perfect final arrow, sealing the win.

This achievement is historic because India last won gold in the men’s recurve team event 18 years ago, back in 2009. Interestingly, Rahul Banerjee, who was part of that 2009 champion team, is now the coach of the current squad.

India concluded the championship with 6 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze. Korea also finished with 10 medals but had fewer gold medals in comparison (2 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze), placing India at the top of the medals table.

Surekha’s Double Triumph

India’s compound archers also delivered a strong performance, picking up three gold and two silver medals. Senior archer Jyothi Surekha led the team with exceptional consistency, earning two gold medals — one in the women’s individual category and another in the women’s team event.

In the women’s team final, Surekha along with Deepshika and Pratiksha Pradeep Pala beat Korea 236-234. The match saw India tied in the first and third sets but gaining crucial one-point leads in the second and fourth sets to secure the gold.

Surekha added another gold in the women’s individual final, defeating 17-year-old Pratiksha 147-145, while Pratiksha earned the silver.

India also grabbed a mixed-team compound victory as Deepshika and Abhishek Verma defeated Bangladesh 153-151. However, the men’s compound team of Abhishek Verma, Rajesh Jadhav, and Prathamesh Yadav narrowly lost 229-230 to Kazakhstan and settled for silver.

India’s success continued across both recurve and compound categories, with the team delivering one of its strongest performances at the SEA Archery Championship.